They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  Oni 


The  writer  of  this  book  has  received  many  expressions  of 
approval  from  men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  occupations ; 
all  sincere  and  helpful  in  sustaining  her  courage  to  continue 
the  line  of  thought  on  and  up.  This  she  expects  to  do, 
strengthening  both  positive  and  negative  positions,  in  an- 
other edition. 

[Excerpts  from  expressed  approval.] 

"I  congratulate  you  heartily  on  having  something  to  say, 
and  saying  it  well." 

"Perhaps  some  day  we  may  be  able  to  live  on  the  heights 
in  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written." 

"Thank  you  for  your  remarkable  little  book.  You  have 
said  many  true  things,  and  said  them  well." 

"My  son  thinks  you  have  written  a  wonderful  little  book, 
and  has  taken  it  away  with  him." 

"I  am  glad  you  do  not  think  all  men  are  evil.  I  do  feel 
that  both  men  and  women  have  much  to  learn  and  put  in 
practice  along  the  lines  of  pure  living." 

"Things  that  do  not  affect  me  personally  are  apt  to  be  too 
little  thought  of  by  me." 

"Persuading  people  to  strive  for  such  ideals  is  like  setting 
their  faces  toward  the  rising  sun." 

"Your  style  is  vivid  and  compelling,  and  your  argu- 
ments unanswerable;  remarkably  strong  and  brilliant."  "I 
am  convinced  that  the  ballot  is  only  the  A.  B.  C.  of  the 
woman's  movement." 

"We  appreciate  to  some  extent  the  great  labor  that  has 
gone  into  the  making  of  it." 

"In  the  course  of  time  this  book  is  going  to  be  read  more 
and  more." 

"It  held  my  attention  from  cover  to  cover." 

"A  most  instructive  and  beautiful  lesson  for  all  to  fol- 
low. Thanking  you  again  for  the  book." 

"I  wish  I  could  make  many  of  your  views-laws-that 
could  not  be  broken." 

"I  am  glad  you  had  the  ability  and  courage,  of  which  I 
realize  it  has  taken  much." 

"May  you  have  strength  to  go  on  with  the  good  work." 

"Many  women  and  men  will  be  glad  to  read  this  book." 


GIFT   OF 
S.    W.    Kerns 


s 


TAKING    "FORTH    THE 
PRECIOUS    FROM 

THE    VILE"-Jer.  XV,  19 


INCLUDING 
£ 

They  Shall  Know  Themselves 
Into  One'/ 

Revised  and  Enlarged 

A  Study  in  Higher  Mental  Hygiene,  Correlating 

Biology,  Science,  Philosophy 

and  Religion 


BY 

JESSIE  THOMAS  KNAPP 
i 


GEORGE   BANTA   PUBLISHING   COMPANY 
MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 


Copyright,  1914 

Copyright,  1920 

By  Jessie  Thomas  Knapp 


*  60, 


'They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 


The  following  is  the  result  of 
twenty-five  years'  research  work, 
study,  travel,  and  observation  in  many 
lands. 

While  radical  it  is  constructive,  not 
iconoclastic.  In  the  latter  direction 
we  have  had  a  flood  not  wholly  bad, 
which  it  is  difficult  to,  but  imperative 
that  we  should,  stem  and  control,  and 
for  which  this  book  is  an  antidote. 

It  is  not  an  attack  on  personalities 
but  on  conditions. 

Atrocities  being  committed,  notably 
in  at  least  four  countries  now  (1918), 
as  well  as  in  all  countries  all  the  time, 
point  the  moral,  even  though  they  do 
not  adorn  the  tale. 

It  was  not  written  for  pleasure  or 
profit.  Those  who  are  happily  situated 
owe  something  to  those  who  are  not. 
Therein  lies  the  reason  for  this  writ- 
ing. Whoever  does  not  agree  with 
positions  taken  must  meet  wiser  minds 
than  mine. 

It  is  not  that  the  writer  loves  man 
the  less  but  woman  more. 

"  'I  am  half-sick  of  shadows/  said 
the  Lady  of  Shalott." 


M114505 


"THEY  SHALL  KNOW 
THEMSELVES  INTO  ONE" 

A  study  in  higher  mental  hygiene. 
Correlating  Biology,  Science,  Philosophy,  and  Religion 

"Sometime  in  the  search  for  Ideals  (in  answer  to  the 
cry  of  women — Why  do  we  suffer  so,  why  are  we  so 
sad?)  a  woman  will  reveal  a  new  truth  which  will  establish 
the  whole  relation  of  man  and  woman  on  a  surer  ground 
of  mutual  happiness." 

Hawthorne. 


"'Peace  on  earth,  Good  will'  to  Women  and  Children, 
as  well  as  'to  Men'" 


vii 


DEDICATED 

TO  the  Archangel  (by  comparison) 
my  especial  tyrant,  who  with  a 
practical  good  sense  of  justice 
and  of  real  values;  by  ready  assistance 
and  sympathy  and  by  removing  all 
obstacles  (when  possible)  has  helped  and 
left  me  free  to  be  myself,  to  see  from  my 
"separate  star"  things  as  they  really  are, 
and  to  make  my  plea ;  and  to  those  friends 
who  through  earnest  interest  have  helped 
to  lighten  the  burden  of  misunderstand- 
ing ;  which  will  sometime  be  understand- 
ing. 


THEREFORE  THUS  SAITH  THE  LORD,  IF 

THOU  TAKE  FORTH  THE  PRECIOUS 

FROM  THE  VILE,  THOU  SHALT  BE 

AS  MY  MOUTH."— Jer.  xv,  19 


Ruskin  says:  "To  see  a  thing  and  tell  it  in  plain  words 
is  the  greatest  thing  a  soul  can  do." 

PREFACE 

LOOKING  about  on  human  conditions  many  are 
beginning  to  discern  that  something  has  gone  very 
wrong,  and  to  wonder  what  it  is  and  why;  and 
to  ask  how  it  can  be  righted;  as  we  know  it  should  and 
can  be.  Have  we  in  America  and  England  been  posing 
as  Angels  and  ministers  of  Freedom,  Light,  and  Right- 
eousness, while  allowing  all  sorts  of  corruption  to  run 
rampant  in  our  midst,  even  as  Nietzsche  (and  others) 
assert.  May  we  justly  be  called  hypocrites  and  whited 
sepulchres — exponents  of  camouflage?  Have  we  had 
our  opportunity  and  been  found  wanting?  What  is  com- 
ing to  us  in  reprisal?  The  continental  countries  are 
perhaps  not  so  blameworthy,  as  their  opportunity  and 
light  were  less  than  ours;  they  made  no  claim  to  be 
leaders  in  philanthropy.  Abraham  Flexner  reports 
truly:  "Europe  has  been  a  man's  world — managed  by 
men,  and  largely  for  men,  for  cynical  men  at  that — 
men  inured  to  the  sight  of  human  inequalities,  callous 
to  the  value  of  lower  class  life,  and  distinctly  lacking 
in  respect  for  womanhood,  especially  that  of  the  work- 
ing classes." 

See  Appendix  O  for  the  Alpha  and  Omega. 

Are  we  all  to  be  dominated  by  the  brute,  material  Hun 
nature  as  we  have  allowed  our  helpless,  physically  weak 
and  poor  to  be  dominated  and  exploited  by  capital  and 
vice ;  by  "malefactors  of  great  wealth,"  and  by  politicians 
who  are  traitors ;  as  we  have ;  we  know  and  acknowledge 
it.  We  have  worshipped  and  are  now  worshipping  what 
we  call  success,  and  it  may  be  that  we  are  to  see  what  a 
sort  of  success,  which  is  really  failure,  means;  even 


Xlll 


Preface 

as  we  have  been  merciless  and   callous  to  the  cry  of 
misery  and  ignorance  in  our  midst. 

Our  Public  Schools,  which  with  universal  training, 
should  have  been  our  bulwark,  have  been  neglected. 
Many  of  the  children  are  unprovided  for,  and  many  of 
those  who  are  in  school  are  underfed  and  so  poorly 
nourished  that  they  are  not  capable  of  learning;  proper 
Bible  teaching*  and  prayer  is  ignored  in  most  instances. 
Their  teachers,  willing  and  devoted,  are  overworked,  over- 
managed,  and  underpaid,  while  we  as  a  nation  were  paying 
super-royal  salaries  to  actresses  and  actors  (most  of 
whom  do  no  more  than  to  "amuse"  the  childish  and 
unformed  mind,  at  the  same  time  perverting  them  dis- 
astrously) ;f  acquiring  large  incomes  (up  to  five  millions 
or  more)  within  sight  and  hearing  of  the  greatest  misery 
and  want;  Jbuilding  $10,000,000  warships,  which  are  now 

*  A  heritage  to  which  children  have  a  right  and  of  which  they 
should  not  be  defrauded.  The  saying  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  in 
unison,  or  even  a  few  verses  from  one  of  the  Psalms;  on  which 
all  churches  agree ;  and  which  have  been  of  so  much  help  to  past 
generations,  could  not  possibly  harm  the  children,  but  would  give 
a  high  moral  tone  to  their  thoughts  through  the  day  and  through 
their  lives.  A  child  whose  spiritual  nature  is  neglected  starts 
with  more  of  a  handicap  than  one  whose  mental  or  physical 
nature  is  neglected.  We  have  the  three  fold  nature  and  it  is  no 
more  reasonable  to  starve  one  of  these  than  dither  of  the 
others.  No  one  is  prepared  to  read  intelligently  whose  Bible 
education  has  been  omitted.  The  mental  discipline  is  fine,  and 
beside  nearly  all  "literature"  is  permeated  with  it  through  ref- 
erence and  quotation.  I  believe  the  present  sad  situation  with 
war,  pestilence  and  famine  stalking  abroad  in  the  world,  is  in  a 
large  measure  due  to  our  materialistic  attitude  toward  that 
which  has  sustained  the  people  in  all  Christian  (and  that  includes 
all  history  making)  nations  of  the  past,  remembering  that  the 
Christ  (or  Truth),  from  which  the  word  Christian  is  derived, 
antedated  Abraham. 

f  The  fine  women  whom  we  expect  and  trust  to  teach  our  chil- 
dren are  paid  on  an  average  $10.00  per  week  in  these  times  of 
high  prices ;  while  actresses  are  credited  with  possessing  50  hats, 
So  pairs  of  shoes  (and  other  things  in  proportion)  at  one  time. 

$  See  Appendix  K. 

xiv 


Preface 

practically  useless ;  using  over  three- fourths  of  our  income 
for  war  purposes  in  time  of  peace.  When  war  came  upon 
us  we  were,  naturally,  utterly  unprepared,  and  still  we 
are  holding  back  as  many  women  as  possible  from  help- 
ing to  solve  the  problem,  which  now  seems  to  have  no 
immediate  solution  even  though  we  may,  with  the  Pan- 
gloss  type  of  optimism  still  say,  it  will  do  us  good  or 
"cheer  up,  the  worst  is  yet  to  come."  Whatever  ails  us  do 
you  suppose  ? 

Thomas  Jefferson,  who  was  the  apostle  of  public 
.schools  also,  said — over  one  hundred  years  ago — that 
only  through  universal  training  for  our  young  men  could 
we  be  at  all  safe  or  in  a  position  to  dictate  and  enforce 
peace,  and  win  respect.  All  this  training  we  suppose  to 
be  favorable  to  growth  in  democratic  ideals,  and  to  be 
beneficial  physically  as  well  as  morally  and  intellectually, 
if  proper  environment  is  secured,  as  it  needed  no  prophet 
to  tell  us  should  be  the  case.  Prophets  we  have  had  but 
evidently  as  nations,  we  have  lacked  vision ;  we  have  been 
utterly  material,  and  even  though  our  materalism  is  of  a 
higher  type,  that  is  not  enough  ;  there  is  something  beyond 
that,  which  is  necessary.  Instead  of  statesmen  and 
patriots  we  have  often  allowed  after-dinner  orators,  poli- 
ticians, and  even  traitors  to  dominate  and  lead  us.  Oh! 
fools  and  slow  of  heart,  is  there  yet  time  to  redeem  our 
place?  God  grant  there  may  be.  Are  we  now  a  people 
who  "will  not  listen  to  sound  doctrine"?  Do  we  say: 
"prophesy  unto  us  pleasant  things"  otherwise  we  will  not 
listen.  Must  it  be  said  of  us  "Israel  will  not  consider; 
my  people  will  not  consider,"  "Thou  that  stonest  the 
prophets  and  killest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee,  how 
often  would  I  have  gathered  you  and  you  would  not,  and 
now  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate." 

XV 


Preface 

These  expressions  may  sound  caustic  because  we  are 
so  accustomed  to  smooth  phrases  which  do  not  especially 
arouse  us.  Listen  to  the  words  of  St.  Paul :  "AWAKE 
thou  that  SLEEPEST,"  spoken  so  long  ago  and  so  little 
heeded  yet.  We  are  only  just  aroused  and  rubbing  our 
eyes  now.  Let  us  this  time  not  turn  over  and  go  to 
sleep  again — this  means  each  one  of  us.  We  have  been 
on  the  wrong  track,  or  the  world  would  not  be  in  the 
condition  we  now  see  it.  History  tells  us  that  this  old 
world  has  rarely  been  at  peace,  only  221  years  (the  exact 
estimate  given)  has  it  been  free  from  war  somewhere;* 
notably  the  year  of  our  Saviour's  birth  was  a  year  of 
peace. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  present  lesson,  which  is 
the  (un) natural  and  (un) necessary  outcome  of  previous 
wrongs,  will  have  the  effect  of  giving  men  enough  of  war, 
and  of  jarring  them  out  of  their  evident  fondness  for 
and  interest  in  it.  It  is  very  expensive  morally,  financially, 
and  humanly  at  best — especially  so  to  women  and  children 
who  are  helpless  in  its  wake;  and  in  all  ways.  But  men 
seem  to  need  an  extreme  lesson;  may  it  waken  them 
from  their  dream  of  material  competition  and  show  them 
practically  that  cooperation  is  the  only  way  for  progress. 

Small  boys  are  taught  to  fight  and  applauded  for  doing 
so  by  men  (and  women  under  their  influence)  ;  they  are 
told  to  "fight  with  their  fists  and  not  with  their  mouths/' 

*  And  from  this  irrational  and  impossible  premise,  men  can 
only  draw  the  conclusion  that  war  is  the  natural  state  of  humanity. 
"Great  nations  are  born  in  war  and  die  in  peace,"  and  this  is 
called  reasoning — think  of  it!  If  they  are  born  in  war  (which 
they  are  not — but  in  ideals)  if  they  do  die  in  peace,  it  is  because  of 
the  "passions  of  men,"  as  all  know;  and  this  idea  has  been  well 
expressed  by  leaders  of  thought  from  the  beginning  of  time ; 
but  it  is  not  quoted  with  approval  by  the,  materially  minded  leaders 
of  mortal  man,  even  at  this  late  day — the  pity  of  it. 

xvi 


Preface 

which  sounds  well,  but  is  not  really  good  sense,  I  confess 
I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it,  but  it  must  be  wrong; 
all  strife  should  be  referred  to  the  mental  tribunal ;  we 
should  be  "too  proud  to  fight,"  and  mind  should  be  able 
to  control  the  body.  The  command  "Thou  shalt  not 
kill"  is  just  as  compelling  as  any  of  the  others.  Our  foes 
appear  to  be  of  our  own  household.  We  can  control 
the  Boches,  perhaps,  more  easily  than  our  own  actions. 

As  if  we  were  impervious  even  yet  to  warning  peals 
which  should  waken  the  slumbering  thought ;  one  is  more 
than  merely  startled  to  be  made  aware  that  another  and 
positively  horrifying  object  lesson  is  being  staged  before 
us  in  Russia  at  the  moment  of  writing  in  regard  to  the  so- 
called  "Nationalizing  of  the  Women"  of  that  unhappy 
country.  (Not  a  new  thing  by  any  means,  as  a  war  mea- 
sure in  Germany  of  the  present  and  past.)  A  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
worker  who  was  in  Petrograd  for  a  time  under  the  Bolshe- 
vik terror,  wrote  home  that  the  women  were  so  much  su- 
perior to  the  men  that  he  could  see  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  vote,  but  that  the  reason  why  the  men  should 
vote  was  not  so  evident.  Another  has  recently  written 
from  France :  "The  peasant  women  here  are  much  more 
intelligent  than  their  men."  These  statements  will  be 
found  to  bear  investigation  and  to  be  borne  out  by  facts ; 
and  they  make  one  speculate  at  least,  why  these  women 
have  been  kept  in  such  subjection,  and  feel  that  the  cause 
of  the  present  situation  may  easily  be  found  in  this  very 
state  of  affairs. 

Think  what  the  decree  above  spoken  of  means  to  those 
fine,  intelligent  Russian  women;  no  redress  of  any  kind 
is  possible ;  a  woman  who  resists  or  a  man  trying  to  de- 
fend his  family,  is  shot  or  imprisoned.  Can  we  not  see 
that  an  act  which  can  be  made  to  force  or  serve  such  a 


Preface 

fiendish  purpose  anywhere  must  be  dealt  with  as  a  poison 
adder  would  be  dealt  with,  and  individual  cases  which  to 
our  shame  be  it  said  are  numerous  in  our  own  country, 
should  cease  to  be.  Had  we  as  a  nation  stood  where  we 
should,  as  an  example  of  Tightness  in  this  and  other  direc- 
tions, notably  the  proper  control  of  capital,  this  whole  sit- 
uation in  Russia  would  never  have  come  to  pass.  The 
Russian  peasants  are  given  a  most  unusual  form  of  educa- 
tion. Advanced  ideas  are  condensed  by  the  Intelligentsia 
(or  teaching  class)  and  are  given  them  orally  by  the  small 
proportion  who  can  read  or  write  and  so  they  get  the 
highest  ideals  free  from  chaff,  but  without  the  so-called 
practical  steps  through  which  they  are  to  be  attained, 
which  leaves  them  in  a  visionary  state,  up  in  the  air  as 
it  were,  and  they  are  idealists  pure  and  simple.  They 
have  wisely  said  that  they  would  as  soon  be  ruled  by  a 
Czar  as  by  unregulated  capital,  by  which  they  thought  they 
found  we  were  ruled.  They  looked  to  us  for  example 
and  bitterly  sad  as  it  is  to  acknowledge  it  we  have  failed 
them  in  all  directions  though  the  want  of  proper  guid- 
ance for  ourselves ;  which  we  have  lacked  in  the 
last  ten  years.  Let  us  wake  up  and  change  our  methods 
or  the  outcome  may  be  tragic  beyond  our  wildest  dreams. 
The  question  is  not  do  we  like  to  face  this,  but  must  we 
do  so;  is  it  true?  Many  people  seem  actually  dazed  in 
view  of  the  situation,  and  to  be  incapable  of  action  of  any 
sort.  We  may  yet  have  to  "call  on  the  rocks  to  fall  on 
and  cover  us/'  as  have  multitudes  of  poor  creatures  in  the 
war  devasted  lands. 

The  world  seems  full  of  people  of  the  "Dr.  Pangloss" 
type  who  consider  it  a  virtue  to  "keep  smiling"  in  the  face 
of  even  the  most  terrific  personal  calamities.  The  keen 
mind  of  Voltaire  saw  and  placed  before  us  in  his 

xviii 


Preface 

"Candida"  all  the  horrors  of  war;  and  there  are  few 
people  at  this  time  who  do  not  comprehend  what  that 
means.  These  atrocities  are  a  part  of  war,  and  always 
have  been.  It  is  no  worse  now  than  it  has  been  in  the 
past,  only  it  is  more  colossal  and  concentrated,  and  we 
have  modern  means  of  learning  in  regard  to  it.  Yet, 
the  majority  of  people  still  rise  up  and  repeat  parrot 
like  with  Voltaire's  Dr.  Pangloss :  "This  best  of  all  pos- 
sible worlds";  in  other  words  "it  is  a  good  thing  for 
us";  "the  world  will  be  better  for  it,"  etc.,  etc.  If  such 
people  lived  in  any  of  the  war  devastated  districts  they 
might  not  be  able  to  find  much  comfort  in  such  a  Self-ish 
view.  In  one  instance  alone  we  were  told  that  "The  cries 
of  the  Italian  women  and  children  in  the  hands  of  the 
Huns  could  be  heard  across  the  Piave."  One  who  has  the 
hearing  ear  (of  mind)  could  hear  them  right  here;  and 
morever  they  could  hear  such  cries  as  the  result  of  just 
such  brutalities  within  a  stone's  throw  from  them  in  any  of 
our  great  cities,  in  numbers,  during  the  year.  The  war 
atrocities  are  only  a  colossal  object  lesson  which  is  given 
us  because  we  are  still  children  in  practical  good,  and  in 
need  of  such  lessons.  The  pity  of  it.  We  are  "miserable 
sinners"  indeed,  that  is,  we  are  "miserably  mistaken."  Let 
us  rectify  our  mistakes  and  no  longer  comfortably  affirm 
them  and  be  satisfied  with  that. 

Carlyle's  illustration  of  the  fifty  young  Frenchmen 
whose  parents  have,  through  sacrifice,  raised  them  to 
hopeful  young  manhood,  who  are  taken  and  trained  and 
fed  by  their  government;  the  same  number  of  young 
Germans  meet  a  like  fate;  they  are  then  all  taken  o 
some  other  place  and  set  to  kill  or  maim  each  other,  and 
ravish  the  people  and  lands  about  them — places  war 


Preface 

before  us  in  all  its  grim  reality  and  futility.*  Time  and 
again  it  has  all  been  pointed  out  to  us,  and  someone 
has  been  sinning  against  light  or  we  would  have  known 
better  long  ago.  Spiritual  wickedness  in  "high  places" 
most  be  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  that  condition  is  not 
past  in  our  country  right  now.  Let  us  face  the  fact, 
and  not  deceive  ourselves  longer  in  this  vital  matter. 
This  is  not  "the  best  of  all  possible  worlds,"  as  it  now 
stands.  War  is  not  the  only  method  of  settling  national 
affairs.  Justice  in  action  and  reaction  is  all  that  is  needed  ; 
when  that  is  clearly  seen,  and  fearlessly  faced  and  stated, 
we  will  be  in  a  position  to  improve  conditions.  Justice 
to  women  should  come  first  and  at  once,  and  through 
that  will  come  justice  to  children,  and  then  to  the  world 
at  large.  It  took  the  Civil  War  to  open  our  colleges  to 
women,  and  votes  with  half  way  justice  to  women  have 
waited  for  the  present  situation ;  why  do  we  wait  for  such 
lessons  ? 

"I  tremble  when  I  see  what  Civic  Government  has  come 
to  without  the  aid  of  woman." 

This  statement  was  made  by  that  highly  spiritual  man, 
Bishop  Phillips  Brooks,  many  years  ago,  to  Alice  Free- 
man Palmer  and  her  husband,  Professor  Palmer  of 
Harvard,  all  ardent  suffragists  of  the  most  (according  to 
the  Antis)  "stubborn"  type.  We  can  but  wonder  what 
he  would  say  were  he  here  now — probably — I  told  you  so.f 

*  See  Appendix  A,  page  197. 

t  It  is  now  asked  why  did  not  the  intellectuals  warn  us  of  what 
was  coming.  The  quotation  given  will  help  to  prove  that  they 
did  foresee  and  forewarn,  but  the  people  would  not  listen. 
On  the  other  hand  a  very  noted  English  divine,  in  a  recent 
sermon,  calls  this  present  war  "God's  Cup,"  and  asks  "Shall  we 

xx 


Preface 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  had  women  been  given 
any  voice  in  affairs  in  England  or  on  the  continent  in  times 
past  this  war  would  never  have  occurred ;  and  the  Phara- 
ohs who  "would  not  let  them  go,"  would  not  be  mourning ; 
not  only  for  their  first  born,  but  for  nearly  all  their  sons, 
as  they  are  now  called  on  to  do.  It  looks  as  if  providence 
was  taking  a  hand  with  mortal  men,  calling  attention  to 
their  unfair  and  untr.ue  estimate  of  woman ;  by  removing 
them  out  of  the  way  as  obstructions  to  progress  in  certain 
directions ;  the  time  for  patient  waiting  for  them  to  turn 
themselves  to  the  right  attitude  having  been  passed.  His- 
tory proves  to  us  that  it  has  been  a  long  and  weary  jour- 
ney with  plenty  of  time  given  for  understanding  and 
repentance.  The  end  of  the  era  seems  to  have  arrived, 
and  those  who  are  not  ready  for  progress,  as  they  should 
be  by  now,  it  may  be  must  go  under.  Is  the  history  of  the 
Israelites  to  be  repeated,  and  no  men  over  20,  at  the 
present  time,  be  allowed  to  go  into  the  "Promised  Land," 
because  they  are  so  deeply  imbued  with  the  false,  material, 
"Egyptian"  thought. 

I  am  far  from  deprecating  the  wonderful  mechanical 
work  of  man's  hand  and  brain;  I  stand  almost  awe  struck 
before  it  at  times,  but  is  it  not  true  that  much,  perhaps 
all  of  it  is  in  vain,  a  touch  from  so  called  nature,  an 
earthquake,  a  cyclone,  or  one  of  these  very  inventions  and 
in  a  moment  these  vast  systems  or  beautiful  things  are 
in  ruins,  are  useless  or  worse  even  including  in  their  turn 
the  loss  of  human  life  with  attendant  suffering,  of  which 
this  war  gives  us  a  terrific  and  vivid  object  lesson. 

not  drink  it?"  Why,  it  is  not  God's  cup;  but  the  CUD  of  our  own 
willfulness.  Why  should  we  want,  or  dare  to  blame  God  for  it 
and  call  our  attitude  Christlike? 


Preface 

Great  nations  are  conceived  and  born  in  ideals,  not  in 
war.  The  Revolutionary  War  was  caused  by  foreigners 
trying  to  dominate  us  (with  the  same  motives  and  means, 
as  far  as  possible)  just  as  is  the  present  war.  We  fought 
then  for  our  ideals  as  well  as  for  our  lives,  just  as  we 
are  now  doing.  Our  nation  was  already  born  and  was 
in  its  infancy;  as  now  it  is  in  its  childhood,  apparently, 
and  must  be  protected  from  the  marauders  from  within 
and  without — now  as  then,  that  we  may  hopefully  look 
forward  to  an  improved  adult  condition  in  the  future. 

The  great  problem  which  confronts  this  age  is  not  a 
new  one  by  any  means;  philosophers  of  all  times  have 
struggled  with  it.  Perhaps  we  in  this  age  and  country  are 
nearer  the  solution  than  we  know ;  I  think  we  are ;  as  the 
correct  ideal  is  certainly  liberated,  it  only  remains  for  us 
to  see  it  generally  accepted ;  then  our  main  struggle  will 
be  over  and  the  millenium  (which  is  already  in  sight  for 
those  who  have  followed  the  star)  at  hand.  We  find  St. 
Augustine  of  old,  wrestling  valiantly  but  inconclusively 
with  it;  the  problem  of  reconciling  the  idea  of  a  good  God 
who  is  all  powerful  and  who  is  Love  with  manifestations 
of  earthquake,  war,  pestilence,  famine,  arson,  etc.,  with 
attendant  suffering  and  loss  in  character  to  the  partici- 
pants ;  attempting  the  impossible.  The  illogical  solutions 
fill  whole  libraries  of  books  which  are  soon  to  become 
worthless. 

One  way  out  of  the  difficulty  is  to  say :  Suffering  softens 
and  refines !  But  does  it  by  any  means  always  ?  Does  it 
not  oftener  make  people  rebellious,  fretful,  and  useless? 
We  must  know  the  truth  of  God's  allness,  and  the  conse- 
quent nothingness  of  evil  (Good's  opposite)  we  must 
know  for  an  illusion  which  Jesus  condemned  unspar- 


xxn 


Preface 

ingly,  saying:  "Ye  are  of  your  father,  the  devil,  he  is  a 
liar  from  the  beginning,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  it."  At 
last  analysis  a  lie  is  only  an  illusion.  Evil  is  called  "that 
old  deceiver  which  deceiveth  the  whole  world."  "The 
deceiver  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down."  In  Revelation 
the  serpent  (presumably  the  one  which  entered  Eden) 
is  said  later  to  have  become  a  great  red  dragon  swollen 
with  wrath,  against  which  the  Angels  warred;  and  his 
place  was  no  more  fdund  in  Heaven.  The  nature  and  fate 
of  illusion  is  here  indicated.  We  must  know  the  truth 
in  order  to  be  free,  as  Jesus  said.  This  war  is  not  against 
persons  but  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places, 
and  is  mental ;  a  tidal  wave  in  the  constant  human  battle 
between  good  and  evil.  The  enemies  to  be  overcome  and 
trampled  under  foot  are  in  our  own  and  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  others.  We  must  censor  our  thoughts, 
and  if  we  hold  the  right  line  in  thought,  the  line  in  France 
will  hold,  never  fear. 

God  is  not  in  or  connected  with  the  whirlwind  or 
tempest*  or  war.  We  need  not,  and  should  not  look  for 
him  there,  but  in  the  still  small  voice  of  conscience.  The 
Doxology  says :  "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow."  Verses  I,  2,  and  4  of  92nd  Psalm,  express  our 
proper  attitude :  "It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  unto  the 
Lord,  to  sing  praises  unto  Thy  name  Oh,  Thou  most 
highest :  to  tell  of  thy  loving  kindness  early  in  the  morning 
and  of  thy  truth  in  the  night  season.  For  thou  Lord  hast 
made  me  glad  through  thy  works ;  I  will  rejoice  in  giving 
praise  for  the  operations  of  thy  hands."  (God  is  the  only 
operator,  and  the  operation  is  always  successful.)  We 
should  not  say  that  God  gives  us  good  part  of  the  time, 
and  the  rest  of  the  time  sends  us  suffering  and  sadness, 

*  i  Kings  XIX  10-12. 

xxiii 


Preface 

which  is  not  good,  is  not  of  the  nature  of  Good  or  God 
at  all,  and  from  which  we  rightly  make  every  effort  to 
escape. 

It  is  recorded  that  in  all  that  Job  suffered  he  "charged 
not  God  foolishly" ;  he  said  all  the  time  that  it  was  unrea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  God  caused  him  to  suffer,  when  he 
had  always  tried  to  do  right.  Job  was  trusting  in  his  own 
righteousness ;  he  had  to  learn  that  "through  grace  are  ye 
saved."  He  evidently  learned  and  demonstrated  one 
God,  Good,  and  then  all  things  were  restored  to  him. 
Job  seems  to  have  been  the  only  Old  Testament  character 
recorded  as  having  attained  this  truth,  which  Jesus  so 
clearly  manifested  later  in  time,  and  which  is  again  being 
discerned  at  the  present  time.  We  must  all  learn  to 
stop  charging  God  foolishly,  as  we  do  when  we  call  dis- 
aster and  suffering  "visitations  of  God,"  or  "dispensations 
of  providence" ;  they  are  anything  but  that  as  all  will  ac- 
knowledge.* 

We  cannot  really  thank  anyone  for  making  us  suffer. 
Thoreau  rightly  calls  such  seeming  resignation  "despera- 
tion." Surely  God  does  not  want  us  to  be  hypocrites. 
We  do  not  praise  God  for  His  benefit,  but  to  formulate 
our  understanding  of  goodness.  We  do  not  pray  to 
change  God's  plans,  but  in  order  that  we  may  consider 
seriously,  and  know  definitely  what  we  really  want; 
formulate  the  idea  and  earnestly  work  with  God's  help 
toward  its  consummation.  "More  things  are  wrought  by 
prayer  than  this  world  dreams  of." 

*  Lewes  records  that  at  the  time  of  the  Lisbon  earthquake, 
Goethe,  who  was  then  six  years  old,  heard  it  discussed  on  all 
sides.  On  coming  home  from  church  one  day  he  said  to  his 
father :  "Why,  it  may  be  a  much  simpler  matter  than  the  clergy- 
man thinks ;  God  knows  very  well  that  an  immortal  soul  can  re- 
ceive no  injury  from  a  mortal  accident."  "Out  of  the  mouth  of 
babes  hast  thou  perfected  strength." 

xxiv 


Preface 

A  small  friend  of  the  writer  after  being  taught  in  a 
Sunday  School  some  of  the  things  hard  to  be  understood, 
said  judicially:  "Well,  if  God  wants  us  good  why  don't 
he  make  us  good?"  Children  are  apt  to  be  logical  until 
their  ideas  are  perverted  by  grown  people  who  have  been 
stuffed  with  the  illogical,  and  have  never  been  required 
or  allowed,  to  think  for  themselves.  Is  not  the  whole 
universe  seen  to  be  God's  body  ?  As  you  will  only  good, 
to  your  body,  to  every  part  equally,  so  God  wills  good 
to  his  body,  to  every  part  equally  (your  body  included)  ; 
and  as  God  is  all  powerful,  what  He  wills  to  do,  he  does. 
We  must  connect  ourselves  with  God,  the  central  energy 
and  light,  (of  understanding,  mentally  through  "know- 
ing the  Truth")  in  order  to  manifest  it;  even  as  the 
electric  bulb  can  only  manifest  its  light  by  being  con- 
nected with  the  central  energy,  through  its  wire. 

Keen  French  writers  observe  that  we  "are  a  religious 
people,"  because  they  say  "you  cannot  find  Americans 
who  will  ridicule  the  Bible  or  Religion."  If  we  can  only 
hold  to  that  position  and  to  our  natural,  high,  moral 
"Puritan"  ideas,  which  foreigners  are  attempting  to  per- 
vert,, we  can  save  the  day  for  all  humanity.  I  make  this 
statement  without  fear  of  successful  contradiction. 

The  Jews  claim  to  be  "The  chosen  people."  Roman 
Catholics,  who  branched  out  from  them,  claim  to  be  "The 
Church."  Episcopalians,  who  branched  from  the  Roman 
Catholics,  claim  to  be  "The  Church."  Later  sects 
branched  off  in  the  line  of  progress,  and  are  a  trifle  more 
liberal;  one  of  their  leaders  said  "God  has  more  light  to 
break  out  from  His  Church."  Now  all  these  denomina- 
tions are  being  drawn  toward  unity,  or  scientific  Christi- 
anity. Each  step  forward  bringing  increased  spirituality ; 
and  getting  nearer  to  the  practical  realization  of  the 


XXV 


Preface 

Christ  (or  Truth),  and  that  means  they  are  getting  nearer 
the  Truth,  which  Jesus  lived  and  taught. 

A  "League  of  Nations"  or  "Peace  Treaty,"  which 
nowhere  verbally  recognizes  God  nor  woman,  is  not 
likely  to  get  very  far  toward  righting  wrong  conditions 
and  is  not  wholly  an  Anglo-saxon  instrument,  surely; 
but  shows  clearly,  pagan  influence,  if  not  domination. 
The  Shantung  clause  alone  proves  it  to  be  unGodly. 
Probably  that  is  the  reason  its  ratification  is  being  so 
otherwise  unaccountably,  delayed.  The  higher  sentiment 
in  America  is  being  used  through  Divine  guidance  as  a 
deterrent. 

"Whatever  is  is  right"  is  a  scientific  statement  of  a 
fact  of  first  magnitude,  though  at  present  it  is  being 
questioned  by  some,  even  as  truth.  Evil  is  not  a  reality 
(it  has  no  source,  how  can  it  be  real)  it  is  an  illusion. 
Whatever  appears  as  evil  is  not  real,  God  (good)  never 
made  it,  it  does  not  exist.  Whatever  is  must  be  real,  and 
it  must  be  right. 

Said  a  friend  to  me  one  day :  It  must  be  interesting  to 
believe  a  thing  so  entirely.  I  said:  I  do  not  think  the 
word  "believe"  applies ;  humanly  speaking,  I  have  proved 
it,,  therefore  I  know,  and  it  is  a  scientific  fact  not  a  belief. 
You  might  believe  two  plus  two  equals  five,  but  you  could 
not  know  it,  because  you  could  not  prove  it;  you  know 
that  two  plus  two  equals  four  because  it  can  be  proven; 
and  because  it  can  be  proven  it  is  a  scientific  fact. 


XXVI 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

TO 
SECOND  EDITION 

OF 

"THEY  SHALL  KNOW  THEMSELVES 
INTO  ONE" 

THE  first  edition  of  this  book  was  intended  and 
published  for  private  distribution.  I  have  only 
aimed  to  get  it  to  thinkers,  knowing  that  through 
them  the  idea  will  sift  down  to  those  who  really  need 
it.  Having  attempted  to  correlate  some  of  the  "garnered 
wisdom  of  the  ages"  and  make  it  practical,  I  wished  to 
establish  thought  centers  through  which  a  way  may  be 
prepared  to  bring  an  enlarged  edition  to  the  attention  of 
the  general  reading  public.  Each  position  could  be  easily 
strengthened,  but  that  would  be  only  to  multiply  words. 
An  unfair  and  untrained  mind  would  not  allow  itself 
to  be  convinced  against  its  will  anyway.  Ay,  there's  the 
rub,  against  its  will ;  and  women  are  by  no  means  the  only 
ones  who  thus  offend  either,  though  the  old  adage  infers 
that  they  are. 

We  must  cease  to  work  with  and  consider  effects  as 
primary,  and  the  cause  secondary.  It  is  plainly  to  be 
seen  that  there  is  no  other  right  process.  Unless  the 
wrong  cause  is  removed  we  may  go  on  for  a  time  but  the 
result  (effect)  is  bound  to  be  disastrous,  and  I  think 
there  is  no  more  time  to  lose  as  apparently  disaster  looms 
not  far  ahead  of  us  now,  in  the  old  way. 


.Introductory 


v  '«!« ;this  'connection  we  should  consider  the  following 
facts : 

A  noted  expert  in  certain  lines  is  publicly  and  with- 
out contradiction  quoted  as  saying:  "Love  is  the  assas- 
sin of  American  youth" ;  he  evidently  meant  lust. 

Fifty  per  cent  of  our  High  School  boys  are  said  to  be 
affected.  If  true  this  is  a  very  serious  matter. 

Any  interested  observer  must  have  looked  forward  to 
Judge  Ben  Lindsey's  article  (which  appeared  in  a  noted 
daily  paper)  on  the  troubles  of  the  many  high  school  girls 
of  all  classes  who  came  to  him  for  help  in  their  time  of 
distress ;  with  hope  of  some  helpful  solution.  He  speaks 
from  personal  knowledge  of  "the  custom"  among 
school  girls  and  boys  as  being  an  every  day  affair,  and 
says  the  country  needs  not  only  to  be  improved  and 
helped  but  it  needs  to  be  saved.  His  only  solution  seems 
to  be  the  soulless,  mechanical,  unmoral  one  of  the  Huns, 
to  whom  he  says  we  must  look  for  guidance  on  this  very 
important  subject!  Surely  these  unmarried  mothers,  and 
their  children  must  be  cared  for  tenderly;  but  does  he 
or  anyone  think  that  the  future  which  depends  on  illegiti- 
mate and  homeless  children  looks  very  hopeful?  Does 
any  one  think  those  young  women,  even  though  mothers, 
are  ever  going  to  be  very  helpful  towards  bettering  condi- 
tions when  we  have  taken  away  barrier  after  barrier  from 
before  their  fortress  of  safety  (leaving  the  men  in  the 
case  to  go  free  as  they  do).  Can  they  then  be  depended 
on,  generally,  to  improve  the  country  and  save  it?  Surely 
not.  And  America,  thus  becoming  voluptuary,  must  it 
not  meet  the  fate  of  Babylon  and  other  cities  of  antiquity 
and  modern  times  ? 


Introductory 


Why  not  teach  self-control  in  the  right  way  before  it 
is  everlastingly  too  late.  Judge  Lindsey  and  many  others 
apparently  think  and  advocate  that  the  way  to  "save" 
the  country  is  to  allow  the  women  the  same  measure 
of  license  as  the  men  now  have,  and  thus  remove  the 
"double  standard"  which  they  hold  responsible  for  the 
present  deplorable  situation — an  astounding  conclusion 
the  practical  application  of  which  will  produce  only  con- 
fusion worse  confounded.  The  way  to  accomplish  desired 
results  will  not  be  this  plan  but  the  reverse — not  to  allow 
women  more  license,  but  to  bring  the  men  to  their  standard 
and  thus  do  away  with  the  destructive  "double  standard." 

Is  not  prevention  better  than  cure?  Is  it  not  better 
to  build  fences  at  the  top  of  the  cliff  rather  than  hospitals 
at  the  base?  Better  to  keep  humanity  from  falling  than 
to  try  to  build  up  the  deceased  and  mangled  bodies  later? 
Yes,  you  say,  of  course,  of  course,  and  then  leave  the 
matter  right  where  it  is ;  satisfied  with  having  acknowl- 
edged the  fact  we  go  on  as  usual.  And  our  splendid  Red 
Cross,  Y's  and  Salvation  Army  people,  are  forced  to  do 
work  which  is  as  terrible  in  reality  as  it  should  be  un- 
necessary ;  aside  from  the  fact  that  their  work  is  needed 
in  many  local  directions.  All  our  institutions  built  up 
for  benefit  and  comfort  seem  to  be  crumbling,  our  land 
marks  to  be  swept  away.  Perhaps  we  may  through  this 
begin  to  realize  that  "The  earth  and  the  fullness  thereof" 
does  not  belong  to  any  one  nation  or  person,  but  to  the 
Lord;  and  through  reflection  (in  his,  man's,  character) 
of  good  and  immortality  it  belongs  to  "man  in  God's  image 
and  likeness"  (not  sinning,  dying  [or  mortal]  man)  ;  and 
with  no  reason  or  chance  for  contention  or  dispute. 


Introductory 


It  is  a  hopeful  indication  that  the  situation  is  far 
enough  uncovered  so  that  we  do  see  it,  to  some  extent  ; 
still,  it  is  also  observed  by  leaders  in  other  countries, 
and  we  are  accepted  by  them  at  our  own  valuation ;  I 
think  there  is  no  doubt  that  our  present  situation  is  due 
to  that  fact.  The  Huns  especially  were  astute  enough 
to  observe  in  it  a  weakness  in  important  matters,  and  so 
were  encouraged  and  led  to  think  that  they  were  ap- 
pointed to  correct  our  acknowledged  shortcomings,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  rest  of  the  world ;  not  realizing  that 
their  own  mistakes  were  of  a  more  deadly  order  than 
those  of  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  had  been  so 
sedulously  overpraised  by  people  who  are  in  the  lime- 
light in  all  countries,  that  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
had  come  to  believe  themselves  a  race  of  super  men.  It 
is  time  we  looked  this  situation  in  the  face  and  set  about 
to  correct  it,  unfess  we  wish  the  Huns  to  prove  their 
material  contentions  true.  Only  as  we  can  practically 
prove  to  them  that  we — the  Allies — are  of  a  higher  order, 
that  we  really  have  high  ideals  and  are  ready  to  stand 
by  them  by  practicing  them  instead  of  by  mere  preaching, 
can  we  win  the  victory. 

The  time  spoken  of  in  the  Bible  has  evidently  come 
when  "There  is  nothing  hidden  that  shall  not  be  revealed, 
or  covered  that  shall  not  be  known."  The  subject  of  a 
proper  birth  control  has  rightly  come  up  for  judgment 
and  insistently  demands  consideration.  The  only  safe, 
reasonable,  moral,  and  practical  method  for  national 
growth  is  through  self-control,  not  through  mechanical, 
criminal,  and  dangerous  devices,  such  as  are  sometimes 
advocated  even  by  well  meaning  people  who  wish  to  help 
the  submerged,  and  who  see  no  other  way.  The  serpent 


Introductory 


of  lust  is  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  the  phrase  "cut  it  out" 
reaches  its  climax  of  use  or  expression  right  here.  Is  it 
not  the  "mark  of  the  beast"  I  ask  you.  Anthony  Corn- 
stock,  of  sainted  memory,  said  truly,  when  facing  this 
problem,  "Why  men  and  women  are  not  brutes." 

This  book  is  far  from  being  an  attack  on  personalities, 
but  on  conditions.  It  refers  not  to  individuals  but  to 
principles.  If  this  c'an  be  kept  in  mind  it  will  be  enlighten- 
ing (remembering  that  humanity's  chief  stumbling  block 
is  in  allowing  personality  to  obscure  truth  or  principle). 
It  certainly  forms  one  and  a  very  important  part,  of  the 
Red  Cross  and  "Y"  work,  both  for  boys  and  girls,  men 
and  women ;  it  is  f oundational  for  all. 

One  often  feels  as  if  struggling  to  walk  up  stream 
against  a  breast  high,  heavy,  and  sluggish  current  thank- 
ful to  be  able  to  hold  one's  own  and  occasionally  to  take 
a  step  in  the  desired  direction. 

From  certain  expressions  in  regard  to  my  statements 
I  gather  that  some  readers  profess  to  think  that  I  "Do 
not  believe  in  the  family"  and  that  I  think  that  mortal 
children  can  be  produced  by  some  transcendent  method 
which  is  not  physical.  I  say  no  such  thing,  and  only  a 
most  superficial  and  false  mind  would  find  that  in  the 
book.  What  I  say  is  this,  that  the  exercise  of  the  so- 
called  sex  function  is  not  necessary  to  vitality,  and  its 
indulgence  except  when  Children  are  expected  and 
desired,  is  harmful,  sinful,  and  improper.  The  best 
authorities  agree  that  these  organs  do  not  atrophy  when 
unused  and  the  best  physicians  say  that  a  man  past  forty 
should  guard  it  as  his  life;  it  should  be  conserved  as 
mental  creative  power,  not  wasted  in  ways  harmful  to 
both  mind  and  body ;  and  what  I  say  is  true,  it  cannot  be 


Introductory 


controverted.  The  ultimate,  which  is  slightly  touched 
upon,  is  in  another  class.  I  do  not  believe  that  people 
can  read  this  book  carefully  and  not  feel  more  respect 
for  themselves  and  others  and  life  generally.  It  comes 
like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  to  those  who  have  been  gasping 
for  it.  One  thankfully  feels  as  if  in  a  new  and  finer 
atmosphere. 

It  takes  a  strong  nature  to  rise  above  injustice,  but  if 
the  nature  is  strong  enough  it  is  a  blessing  in  disguise,  as 
worldly  popularity  often  causes  its  votaries  to  become 
victims  of  dreamy  self-satisfaction  and  through  dissipa- 
tion of  time,  energy,  and  means,  they  accomplish  little 
of  lasting  value.  In  Revelation  the  same  Angel  which 
brings  the  vials  of  wrath  points  also  the  way  to  Heaven. 
Whistler  is  quoted  as  saying:  "The  only  insult  the  public 
has  not  offered  me  is  popularity." 

As  Goethe  is  said  by  George  Lewes,  to  have  done,  so  I 
have  "observed  things  from  the  heights  and  descended  to 
the  valleys  to  verify  them,  afterward  returning  to  the 
heights"  where  I  abide  serenely.  Readers  are  asked  to 
consider  the  text,  not  the  personality  or  ideas  of  the 
writer.  If  humanity  had  ever  learned  to  do  that  thing 
we  would  be  much  farther  along  on  the  upward  path 
than  we  now  are.  Those  who  think  they  do  not  agree 
with  the  positions  taken  in  this  book  must  meet  more 
noted  minds  than  the  writer's,  and  should  look  to  their 
logic  sharply.  I  begin  to  realize  in  a  properly  chastened 
frame  of  mind,  that  it  is  a  serious  thing  to  write  a  book ; 
and  humanly  speaking  I  feel  about  as  comfortable  as  one 
does  who  is  taking  the  traditional  bull  by  the  horns.  I 
have  had  to  screw  my  courage  and  patience  to  the  sticking 
point  many  times  I  can  assure  you  in  taking  this  excursion 


Introductory 


out  into  uncharted  seas  and  I  ask  your  close  sympathy 
and  cooperation  in  locating  our  exact  position  and  future 
direction. 

It  must  be  evident  that  no  person  would  take  pleasure 
in  bringing  out  such  serious  mistakes  as  seem  to  be  un- 
covered in  this  book.  Such  a  stupid  mistake  it  seems — 
doesn't  it?  The  writer  of  this  is  human  like  the  rest, 
and  is  as  sorry  and  mortified  that  such  mistakes  have 
occurred  as  anyone  can  be.  No  one  takes  up  such  a  line 
for  pleasure  or  material  profit ;  it  is  a  hateful,  thankless, 
and  ungracious  task,  but  as  the  wounded  soldier  said  to 
his  nurse :  "Somebody  has  got  to  do  it,  Sister,  and  I  must 
get  back  to  the  firing  line  as  quickly  as  possible."  If 
I  kept  still  it  seems  that  "the  very  stones  would  cry  out." 
The  war  in  Europe  is  only  a  symbol  of  the  mental  war- 
fare which  is  now  in  progress.  This  thing,  which  is  a 
human  problem,  not  a  sex  question,  must  be  settled  and 
the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better  for  all.  Somebody  has 
got  to  do  it  Sister  and  Brother,  even  though  the  firing 
line  may  not  be  such  a  very  comfortable  place.  Also 
we  must  be  about  the  Father's  and  Mother's  business. 
It  is  one  clear  call  for  us  to  go  up  higher. 

I  feel  that  I  have  been  on  the  firing  line  for,  lo  these 
many  years,  and  in  publishing  this  book  in  1914,  I  went 
"over  the  top"  into  "No  Man's  Land."  However,  my 
position  is  being  well  supported  at  the  present  time. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  Daniels,  at  a  meeting  of  medical 
men  in  Chicago,  a  bishop  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  just  home 
from  France,  and  many  others,  assert  plainly  that  the 
only  safety  for  our  soldiers  is  in  "absolute  continence." 
Dr.  Kellogg,  of  the  Battle  Creek  Sanitorium,  well  known 
as  a  man  of  wide  experience,  said  long  ago:  "A  pure 


Introductory 


moral  life,  even  to  absolute  continence,  is  necessary  to 
health."  Will  you  tell  me  how  they  are  to  make  this 
teaching  effective,  after  the  harm  has  already  been  done 
to  their  thoughts.  These  efforts  seem  almost  like  covering 
up  the  well  after  the  harm  is  done.  Certainly  an  ap- 
palling situation  confronts  us.  How  long  would  we  have 
allowed  these  things  to  continue,  except  for  the  fact  that 
we  now  "need"  the  soldiers  and  feel  that  we  must  pro- 
tect them.  Do  we  realize  at  last  what  a  terrible  serpent 
we  have  been  nourishing,  and  must  we  not  right  about 
face  in  the  matter?  Are  not  civilians,  men,  women,  and 
children,  as  well  worth  "protecting"  as  soldiers? 

How  are  these  terrible  battalions  of  sinners  (mistaken 
ones)  recruited?  With  boys  and  girls  taken  while 
almost,  or  quite,  children  by  men  old  enough  to  be  their 
fathers,  and  to  know  better,  and  exploited  for  money? 
These  fiends  (aided  often  it  is  true  by  their  own  victims 
who  are  helpless  in  their  grasp)  are  allowed  license  and 
protection  in  their  orgies  of  crime,  by  politicians,  as  is 
well  known.  Were  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  of  old  any 
worse?  Shall  we  wonder  that  destruction  has  come  to 
many  already?  Are  we  going  to  see  the  end  of  all  flesh, 
as  the  Bible  says  we  should,  except  for  the  elect's  sake 
(whoever  they  may  be). 

Some  of  our  statesmen  grandiloquently  say  we  must 
make  every  place  on  the  globe  as  safe  for  an  American 
as  his  own  country.  Think  of  it;  are  they  not  aware 
that  no  man,  woman,  or  child  is  safe  for  a  moment.  We 
ask  them  "Art  thou  a  Master  in  Israel  and  knowest  not 
these  things?"  Is  property  generally  at  all  protected 
from  thieves  and  arson?  Are  not  our  people  being 
murdered  at  our  doors  daily  in  increasing  numbers  (7,700 

8 


Introductory 


to  11,000  is  estimated  as  the  yearly  toll)  ?  Are  they  not 
starving,  freezing,  and  being  abused  right  about  us,  in  the 
midst  of  our  prosperity?  One  cannot  read  the  daily 
papers  and  not  know  that  all  of  these  statements  are 
true;  one  would  judge  an  American,  except  in  war  time 
perhaps,  to  be  safer  anywhere  else  than  in  his  own 
country.  Our  theories  may  be  right  but  what  about  our 
practice,  which  is  what  counts.  How  about  conditions 
the  last  five  years  in  Mexico,  right  at  our  doors.  Reports 
even,  censored  so  that  we  may  not  know.*  Where  is  our 
boasted  liberty?  Does  it  mean  anything  that  from  25  to 
50  million  people,  soldiers  and  civilians,  men,  women,  and 
children,  have  been  killed  or  hopelessly  crippled  for  life 
in  the  past  four  years,  by  war  alone,  while  in  the  U.  S. 
one  person  is  maimed  or  killed  by  avoidable  accidents, 
each  minute;  that  people  are  being  murdered  and  out- 
raged at  our  doors  in  unbelievable  numbers ;  that  10%  of 
children  born  die  before  they  are  one  year  old,  one-third 
become  later  hopelessly  abnormal,  only  one-third  being 
normal;  all  over  the  world  suffering  is  rampant  and 
death  is  very  busy.  Now  what  I  say  is  this:  That  it 
would  be  much  better  to  conserve  already  existing  human 
life  than  to  reproduce  it  at  such  a  cost  of  suffering,  and 
that  self-control  is  the  only  safe  birth  control.  Certainly 
all  will  acknowledge  that  the  point  is  well  taken.  Miss 
Julia  Lathrop  of  the  Children's  Bureau  says :  "That  from 
225  to  250  in  every  thousand  of  the  children,  who  need- 
lessly die,  can  be  saved.  The  army  which  lost  by  death 
one-third  of  its  members  would  arouse  the  world  to  the 
magnitude  of  its  sacrifice,  yet  nearly  one  in  three  of  the 
infants  of  working  mothers  can  be  killed  slowly  and  we 
never  turn  a  hair."  Just  consider  what  the  mothering 
alone  means. 

*  See  Appendix  O,  page  215. 

9 


Introductory 


In  China  the  female  children  are  killed  off  purposely 
and  regardlessly ;  an  effective  measure  toward  keeping 
down  the  population ;  a  man's  form  of  race  suicide.  The 
reasonable  idea  would  be  to  have  fewer  children,  and 
preserve  them;  then  lust,  which  is  never  reasonable, 
would  be  obliged  to  retire  to  its  proper  obscurity. 

In  Holland  where  material  birth  control  even,  is  taught 
in  clinics,  the  increase  in  population  is  greater  than  in 
other  countries,  because  the  death  rate  is  lower.  Put 
two  and  two  together  and  draw  your  own  conclusions. 

Many  seem  only  to  sense  the  danger  in  certain  wrong 
conditions  when  those  conditions  incapacitate  our  men 
from  fighting  to  protect  our  lives  (a  cowardly  position  to 
take).  Coming  into  the  war  at  so  late  a  day  we  should 
not  claim  to  be  in  it  for  our  ideals  alone ;  let  us  face  the 
truth  in  this  matter,  even  at  this  late  day.  Such  a  terrific 
way  to  learn  an  obvious  fact,  that  the  efficiency  of  the 
race  should  be  conserved  in  peace  and  for  peaceful  avoca- 
tions. This  should  not  have  waited  on  force. 

The  serpent  has  been  uncovered  through  various  investi- 
gations, but  no  one  has  heretofore  publicly  given  a  practi- 
cal remedy  or  solution  for  the  problem,  except  as  set 
forth  in  this  book ;  which  is,  of  course,  based  on  practical 
and  applied  Christianity.  Cheapening  nostrums  (which 
is  advocated  and  applied)  to  remedy  disgraceful  condi- 
tions is  not  a  solution  but  a  step  toward  unknown  depths 
in  the  matter.  Open  polygamy  as  a  remedy  for  "the 
polygamous  nature  of  the  male"  is  shamelessly  avowed 
and  advocated,  and  our  younger  people  who  have  as  yet 
little  philosophy,  are  helpless  in  the  hands  of  these 
teachers  (?)  (all  under  masculine  domination)  who  ought 
to  know  better  and  to  be  ashamed  of  themselves,  whereas 

10 


Introductory 


they  apparently  glory  in  what  should  be  their  shame.  I 
do  not  for  a  moment  doubt;  in  fact,  I  know,  that  the 
better  class  of  men  are  as  shocked  and  disgusted  by  such 
vagaries  as  anyone  could  well  be.  But  "if  my  enemy 
know  me  and  I  know  him  not  I  am  defeated  before  I 
go  into  the  battle."  We  must  band  together  and  make 
our  protests  vigorous  and  effective. 

Dean  Sumner  agrees  with  the  Pope  and  many  other 
noted  men  and  women  that  the  immodest  and  indecent 
dress  of  a  certain  class  of  women  (many  of  them  other- 
wise respectable)  is  at  the  bottom  of  much  of  the  immor- 
ality among  men.  It  is  clear  to  the  careful  thinker  that 
men  have  given  women  only  one  avenue  to  power,  and 
that  there  is  an  unseen  but  powerful  force  behind  this 
seeming  condition.  Let  us  place  the  responsibility  where 
it  belongs.  Of  late  some  medical  men  come  out  and  say 
plainly  that  it  should  be  encouraged  as  it  is  a  lure  (women 
please  take  this  notice  of  this)  to  men,  and  so  helps  to  re- 
populate  the  earth,  which  is  always,  and  especially  now, 
being  drained  by  war,  pestilence  and  famine.  That  this 
view  causes  morality  to  retire  out  of  sight  is  not  con- 
sidered important  by  this  class  of  men.  The  physical  only 
is  important,  and  the  women  are  only  a  means  to  an  end 
so  no  account  is  made  of  the  tragedy  which  their  lives 
thus  become. 

High  heeled  shoes,  ultra  transparent  waists  and  hose  are 
unhealthful,  immoral  and  displeasing,  and  appeal  only  to 
the  lower  natures  of  both  sexes.  Our  "best  women,"  the 
world's  reformers,  do  not  wear  them.  It  may  be  set  down 
as  an  axiom  to  be  regarded  that  no  woman  who  under- 
stands her  own  interests  wishes  to  attract  man  through 
sensual  means,  through  his  lower  nature.  She  is  in  a 

ii 


Introductory 


measure  safe  herself  in  public,  for  the  men  thus  appealed 
to  may  not  so  much  as  lay  a  finger  on  her  in  society,  but 
they  are  often  moved  to  make  themselves,  and  someone 
else,  suffer  the  consequences,  while  the  real  wrong  doer 
is  the  only  one  to  go  physically  unscathed,  unless  she 
catches  cold.  To  go  among  them  is  to  be  reminded  of 
Harems,  or  worse. 

Vulgar  things  admit  of  no  defense 

And  "want  of  decency  is  want  of  sense." 

In  a  general  way  women  are  said  to  lose  health  and 
attractive  appearance  earlier  than  men;  may  it  not  well 
be  because  they  are  and  have  been  so  unsuitably  clad,  to 
say  the  least,  from  childhood.  This  phase  should  appeal 
to  all  classes  of  women,  even  to  those  who  close  their 
eyes  to  the  moral  danger,  which  is  really  the  greater  evil 
of  the  two.* 

In  conspicuous  advertisement  pictures  of  the  change 
from  automobiles  to  the  opera,  theater  or  ball,  men  are 
shown  as  having  on  overcoats  and  hats  completely  and 

*  Close  observation  will  show  that  through  wrong  views  and 
practice,  love  is  killed  and  life  spoiled.  We  will  do  well  to  look  to 
this,  before  we  blame  corsets  and  wrong  customs  in  dress  and 
life,  for  the  ills  to  which  human  flesh  is  thought  to  be  heir.  I 
believe  all  will  be  found  to  have  its  root  in  immorality.  We  are 
not  normal  and  never  can  be  while  life  and  health  are  wasted. 
The  corset  and  its  accessories,  wrong  dressing  and  living,  are  a 
secondary  sex  manifestation;  they  are  abnormal  and  necessarily 
so,  if  they  are  to  appeal  to  and  attract  abnormal  persons.  Once 
we  get  into  normal  relations,  these  evils  will  all  disappear  before 
the  light  of  truth,  and  we  will  have  the  natural  body  artistically 
arrayed.  As  long  as  women  are  suppressed  and  have  only  one 
avenue  open  to  power,  they  may  be  likely  to  use  it  and  bring  every 
aid  to  strengthen  it.  Women  are  not  responsible  for  this  state  of 
affairs. 


12 


Introductory 


warmly  clothed  in  uni-form,  while  the  women  are  vari- 
ously and  gorgeously  arrayed  with  their  persons  exposed 
to  the  elements.  Can  the  men  be  more  modest  or  is  it  that 
they  know  that  women  are  not  attracted  but  are  shocked 
at  masculine  nudity ;  or  are  they  afraid  of  results,  or  more 
careful  of  health,  or  is  it  because  as  men  they  are  more 
independent?  Perhaps  something  of  each  or  all.  One 
writer  says :  "I  don't  know  any  more  than  you  do,  why 
men  dress  this  way,'  unless  of  course  it's  to  protect  the 
morals  of  women ;  isn't  it  possible  that  men,  like  Mrs.  — , 
believe  the  sight  of  human  flesh  is  necessarily  depraving, 
and  so  they  dress  to  reduce  our  temptations  to  a  mini- 
mum." I  believe  the  latter  inference  to  be  correct.  Men 
often  unconsciously  know  from  personal  experience  what 
is  the  result  of  such  exposure,  and  that  it  often  exacts 
serious  penalties,  and  women  generally  speaking  do  not 
realize  it  to  any  extent. 

The  old  serpent  is  attempting  to  start  up  in  many  places 
now,  knowing  that  his  time  is  short.  In  none  is  he  more 
barefaced  than  in  the  advocacy  of  polygamy  to  meet  the 
masculine  shortage  in  existing  human  conditions.  On  the 
Continent  its  expediency  is  not  questioned,  and  in  En- 
gland many  noted  people  are  advocating  it  without  con- 
sidering its  practical  application,  I  must  think. 

G.  B.  Shaw  is  quoted  in  our  Literary  Digest  as  saying 
that  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  soldiers  at  the  front  are 
fighting  to  preserve  "the  child  bearing  woman" :  that  if 
90%  of  the  men  were  killed  the  race  could  still  continue ; 
but  if  90%  of  the  women  were  killed  the  end  would  be 
near.  The  statement  bears  only  one  interpretation,  with 
the  Huns  as  its  prophet  and  exponent  it  would  seem  at 

13 


Introductory 


the  present  time  as  if  we  could  scarcely  do  better  than  to 
reverse  their  ideas  and  practice. 

Openly  without  rebuke  in  accessible  literature  of  a 
certain  accepted  stamp,*  we  read  "it  seems  probable  to  me 
that  virginity  and  chastity  of  women  will  come  in  time 
to  be  less  and  less  appreciated  or  desired.  In  this 
particular  as  in  many  others,  the  French  appear  to  be 
leading  civilization.  The  Anglo-Saxons  will,  of  course, 
demand  definite  instructions  and  for  them  the  solution 
has  already  been  indicated/'  To  what  does  the  writer 
refer?  He  sneers  at  Puritan  ideas  of  decency,  which  is 
Americanism,  and  is  the  ideal  to  which  we  should  cling 
(along  with  our  Constitution)  and  which  we  should  give 
out  to  a  suffering  world  waiting  and  longing  for  it. 
Neither  the  French  nor  the  Huns  are  the  people  to  whom 
we  should  look  for  our  ideals  of  mortality.  (Study  the 
expressed  sentiments  of  Thomas  Jefferson  on  this  sub- 
ject.) 

To  a  modern  writer  who  feels  with  discouragement  the 
almost  hopelessness  of  the  situation,  the  scripture  text 
"They  have  Abraham  and  the  Prophets,  let  them  hear 
them"  often  recurs;  and  the  words  from  Jer.  19  "There- 
fore thus  saith  the  Lord,  if  thou  take  forth  the  precious 
from  the  vile,  thou  shalt  be  as  my  mouth"  are  needed  to 
strengthen  the  purpose  to  continue.  There  is  so  much 
that  is  "precious"  in  connection  with  this  subject,  that  it 
would  be  a  disastrous  pity  to  have  it  lost  in  the  vile ;  and 
so  we  must  try  to  rescue  the  "precious"  as  soon  as  possible 
lest  it  should  soon  be  "too  late,"  and  our  loss  irreparable. 
Let  me  assure  you  this  is  a  very  serious  matter,  and 
should  be  attended  to ;  even  though  you  individually  may 

*Of  foreign  origin. 

14 


Introductory 


not  as  yet  see  distinctly  the  rocks  toward  which  we  are 
drifting,  and  which  are  very  close  at  the  present  time. 

All  these  conditions  are  encouraging  and  emboldening 
the  Mormons,  whose  articles  and  advertisements  are  ac- 
cepted by  many  noted  publications,  thus  in  effect  counte- 
nancing their  teachings.  To  such  straits  has  the  human 
mind  been  carried  in  its  effort  to  "multiply  and  replenish 
the  earth,"  with  merely  human,  physical,  and  dying  beings. 
It  is  the  same  old  serpent  as  in  Eden  of  old,  multiplied 
beyond  conception,  and  will  bring  something  worse  than 
mere  physical  death  (its  logical  outcome)  in  its  train, 
if  not  met  with  truth,  and  so  with  death  to  itself  (falsity). 
It  is  a  boa  constrictor  in  size  compared  with  the  serpent 
alluded  to.  It  is  rearing  its  head  in  frightful  manner  and 
hissing  its  lies  hoping  that  this  time  humanity  may  not 
escape  at  all.  A  noted  Utah  official  says  that  "the  Mor- 
mons, encouraged  by  present  day  conditions,  are  working 
more  insidiously  than  ever,"  and  close  observers  know  this 
to  be  true.  The  idea  is  certainly  being  considered  and 
advocated  in  this  country,  by  shallow  surface  thinkers 
who  trim  their  sails  to  every  breeze  of  notoriety.  It  may 
be  safely  asserted  that  it  will  never  go  into  effect  in  this 
country;  and  why — because  the  women  are  partially 
enfranchised,  with  the  result  that  a  certain  class  of  men 
have  long  unconsciously  feared  and  fought  against,  the 
women  are  no  longer  unmoral  sex  slaves. 

We  read  from  the  pen  of  a  would-be  wit  an 
(im)practical  summing  up  of  the  Mormon  doctrine,  which 
is  absolute  masculine  selfishness  without  so  much  as  an 
attempt  at  an  excuse  or  the  consciousness  of  the  need 
of  one.  We  read  that  "A  Poet  needs  several  wives,  one 
to  do  the  cooking,  one  to  do  the  washing,  another  to  help 

IS 


Introductory 


round  otherwise,  one  to  earn  the  family  living."  Children 
do  not  enter  into  this  man's  scheme  at  all,  it  seems ;  they 
would  annoy  him.  He  might  have  one  extra  wife  whose 
province  it  was  to  "bear  and  rear  plenty  of  healthy  chil- 
dren/' or  the  others  might  make  out  to  bear  them,  and  they 
could  then  be  reared  by  the  government;  and  he  and 
they  would  have  fulfilled  their  duty.  What  sort  of  a  poet 
such  a  person  would  make  does  not  enter  into  the  ques- 
tion, or  how  he  would  have  liked  to  be  brought  up  in  a 
community  himself,  with  his  individuality  crushed  or  un- 
developed. No,  he  thinks  of  nothing  but  Himself  and 
F-m-a-t-is  s  in  j,  as  the  funny  colyums  have  it.  How  about 
the  woman  who  might  want  one  husband  to  earn  money, 
and  one  to  take  her  about,  etc.  Oh,  She  would  be  a 
shamelessly  selfish  wretch ;  but  with  the  man  it  is  entirely 
different. 

The  home  is  said  to  be  the  safeguard  of  civilization. 
What  becomes  of  the  home  and  of  moral  teaching  if  poly- 
gamy is  practiced  ?  What  would  be  the  character  of  the 
children  of  such  union?  All  experience  and  science 
prove  the  outcome  to  be  evil. 

In  a  modern  case  (of  really  international  fame)  a 
fifteen  year  old  Spanish  dancer  married  a  super  wealthy, 
many  wived,  middle  aged  East  Indian  Maharajah.  A 
few  years  later  in  answer  to  a  noted  English  woman's 
coarse  statement  as  to  the  practical  benefits  of  polygamy 
at  the  present  stage  of  world  events,  and  as  to  what 
modern  woman  can  beneficially  learn  from  the  harem; 
the  Maharanee  writes :  "It  is  not  true  what  this  woman 
says :  the  harem  does  not  give  up  its  dark  secrets  to  the 
prying  western  stranger."  She  also  says  that  "in  India 
the  harem  as  an  institution  is  dying  out ;  dying  the  death, 

16 


Introductory 


Many  are  well  aware,  and  are  working  to  the  end  that 
the  rate  of  infant  mortality  and  avoidable  accidents  be 
appreciably  lowered.  The  way  is  already  marked  out ;  let 
us  continue  to  walk  in  it  to  success.  Certainly  the  Mother 
help  is  needed  in  this  crisis,  in  ballot  and  council.  It  has 
been  too  long  ignored.  Let  the  silly  Antis  be  awakened 
forcibly. 

Too  often  men  speak  of  "manhood  rights,"  in  some 
special  direction,  seemingly  ignoring  the  fact  that  women 
also  have  rights.  Of  late,  too,  other  men  have  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  the  "exploitation  of  women  and 
children  all  over  the  world,  formed  one  of  the  saddest 
and  most  shameful  pages  of  history."* 

Our  National  stand  on  the  liquor  question  is  one  evi- 
dence of  proper  progress,  for  which  we  are  thankful.  It 
is  to  be  expected  that  a  "sober"  man  will  be  better  able 
to  keep  his  wits,  and  to  do  good  work  than  a  "drinking 
man."  So  we  as  a  sober  nation  will  be  better  able  to  keep 
our  wits  than  nations  addicted  to  liquor,  Statesmen  in  all 
countries  observe  this,  and  will  endeavor  to  follow  suit; 
so  our  example  can  be  trusted  to  have  a  widespread 
result.  The  coming  contest  will  be  first  of  all  a  battle 
of  wits,  and  we  will  need  every  advantage  to  enable  us  to 
keep  our  place  among  the  natural  leaders  of  nations. 

*  NOTE.  When  reading  the  fearful  recital  of  childhood  suffering 
in  these  last  years,  it  would  seem  as  if  anyone  with  common  sense 
must  acknowledge  "they  had  better  never  been  born."  A  Viennese 
man  is  quoted  as  saying  in  his  misery :  "Thank  God  my  wife  is 
dead  and  I  have  no  children." 

The  women  and  children  certainly  are  the  greatest  sufferers; 
it  makes  one  heartsick  that  women  should  be  asked  or  forced  to 
bear  children  under  such  circumstances,  as  they  are!  and  why? 
Self  control  seems  to  be  called  for,  and  should  be  the  rule;  then 
these  most  excruciating  things  would  not  occur.  Prohibition  of 
liquor  should  help  to  make  life  better  worth  living  for  a  large 
class  of  women  and  children.  When  children  are  acquitted  by  a 

19 


Introductory 


jury  for  shooting  their  own  father  who  is  abusing  their  mother  and 
the  family  generally,  we  know  something  is  very  wrong.  These 
drunkards  should  at  least  take  someone  of  their  own  size  and 
character.  That  which  makes  brutal  cowards  and  bullies  out  of 
otherwise  peaceful  and  harmless  citizens,  should  be  "tabu"  to 
everyone. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  FIRST  EDITION 

OF 

'THEY  SHALL  KNOW 
THEMSELVES  INTO  ONE" 
REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 

FEELING  as  I  do,  that  these  are  valuable  truths; 
wishing  to  discuss  them  with  friends,  but  being 
of  necessity  limited  to  fragmentary  discussion  on 
paper  (and  otherwise)  ;  having  no  peace  of  mind  until 
they  were  written  out  in  more  or  less  consecutive  order, 
I  have  taken  my  own  wherever  found,  and  omitted  no 
ray  of  light  which  can  be  brought  to  bear.  I  may  appear 
to  desire  to  elevate  woman  at  the  expense  of  man  and 
make  her  out  a  superior  being.  Such  has  not  been  my 
thought — far  from  it ;  an  impartial  reading  will  prove  this 
to  be  true.  In  the  light  of  the  past  and  by  contrast,  the 
pendulum  may  appear  to  swing  a  little  too  far,  but  I 
do  not  think  it  really  does. 

I  have  never  seen  that  man  needed  defense,  except, 
perhaps,  against  himself.  My  sympathy  is  always  with 
the  one  who  is  at  a  disadvantage.  Is  not  woman  under 
present  conditions  naturally  that,  and  is  not  this  a  reason 
why  she  should  be  at  least  justly  dealt  with?  Nor  has 
her  condition  been  ameliorated  by  the  attitude  of  man 
toward  her.  His  blindness  is  probably  the  measure  of  his 
wrongdoing.  He  needs  only  to  see,  in  order  that  he  may 
right  himself.  Not  that  man,  individually,  is  deliberately 
and  purposely  unkind  to  and  thoughtless  of  woman;  but 
is  not  his  attitude  (for  which  we  are  now  paying)  almost 

21 


Introductory 


always  of  a  patronizing,  superior,  "Love  is  of  man's  life 
a  thing  apart,  'tis  woman's  whole  existence,"  sort? 

We  are  all  familiar  with  these  lines,  so  often  quoted 
as  showing  the  pathos  and  limitation  of  woman's  life; 
but  let  us  look  at  it:  the  reasoning  seems  faulty.  As 
love  is  the  highest  and  best  of  which  we  know,  the  state 
of  mind  we  are  striving  to  attain  and  to  which  we  must 
attain  ere  conditions  be  perfect,  it  is  probably  a  correct 
statement,  and  decidedly  creditable  to  woman;  anything 
but  pathetic,  a  limitation.  The  so-called  life  of  which 
love  is  "a  thing  apart"  is  incomplete ;  it  must  be  in  time 
the  "whole  existence"  of  every  human  being.  God  is 
Love.  According  to  the  poet,  woman  has  already  attained. 

If  the  time  ever  comes  when  man  needs  defense,  he 
will  surely  get  it.  It  is  difficult  to  say  these  things  and 
at  the  same  time  avoid  an  appearance  of  pertness ;  which 
is  far  from  my  intention.  I  have  looked  at  it,  not  from 
a  woman's  or  man's  standpoint,  but  fairly,  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  human  being. 

No  one  thinks  of  using  electricity  or  steam  without 
first  learning  the  laws  by  which  they  are  governed,  other- 
wise the  result  would  prove  disastrous.  "Thought"  and 
"life"  are  more  potent  and  powerful  forces  than  either 
of  these;  then,  as  we  must  use  both,  are  we  not  wisest 
when  we  try  to  learn  the  laws  governing  them  ?  To  use 
them  without  is  to  invite  worse  disaster  than  in  the  case 
of  steam  or  electricity.  Certain  laws  were  brought  into 
use  in  the  construction  of  huts  for  our  primitive  ancestors  ; 
a  better  knowledge  of  the  same  laws  would  build  a  Con- 
gressional Library,  or  a  Parthenon.  The  idea  is  perfect, 
and,  in  its  manifestation,  is  to  be  perfected.  To  that  end 
is  our  effort  toward  a  better  understanding  of  the  law. 

22 


Introductory 


We  do  not  know  as  yet  what  even  a  perfect  earthly  house 
is,  nor  a  perfect  home,  father,  mother,  or  child.  We  work 
toward  a  knowledge  and  a  manifestation  of  them,  as  of 
all  things.  At  best,  our  idea  is  finite — what  if  we  attempt 
to  carry  it  to  infinity ! 

Unconsciously,  the  reasoning  has  been  from  cause  to 
effect,  which  is  unusual,  though  the  only  satisfactory  and 
right  method.  While  the  subjects  may  seem  far  apart, 
close  thinking  will  show  the  connection  between  them, 
'"the  increasing  purpose"  which  it  is  important  to  keep 
in  mind.  The  whole  has  resolved  itself  into  a  plea  for 
the  recognition  of  the  real  meaning  and  value  of  Mother- 
hood. Fatherhood,  Brotherhood,  we  seem  to  understand 
from  the  prominence  given  them  in  the  Bible  and  in  the 
past.  May  we  not  now  be  arriving  at  the  new  gospel  of 
Motherhood,  which  Jesus  made  prominent  (and  Sister- 
hood) ? 

This  is  all  intended  more  to  bring  about  discussion  and 
further  light  than  as  a  finished  statement;  though  often 
that  form  has  been  used  for  the  sake  of  brevity  and  con- 
ciseness, where  except  for  that  necessity  the  question 
form  would  have  suited  the  purpose  better.  While  it  is 
written  in  no  uncertain  spirit;  rather  one  of  deep  con- 
viction, yet  it  may  be  read  to  advantage  as  if  an  immense 
question  mark  preceded  it. 

It  refers  mainly  to  the  material  view  of  life  (things 
as  they  appear  to  be),  an  account  of  which  we  find  in 
the  second  chapter  of  Genesis ;  and  is  not  to  be  considered 
from  a  personal  standpoint,  or  as  referring  to  individuals, 
but  in  a  broad,  general  way,  as  affecting  classes  and 
peoples — nations — masses  !  This  may  be  difficult,  but  I 
trust  it  is  not  impossible. 

23 


Introductory 


Those  who  have  material  riches  and  moderate  health 
are  apt  to  care  little  for  anything  else;  but  I  think  any 
may  feel  repaid  for  reading  the  following  with  patience, 
reserving  judgment  until  all  is  read. 

You  will  observe  that,  to  a  certain  extent,  I  sacrifice 
grace  and  construction  to  brevity  and  earnestness,  and  in 
so  doing  have,  of  necessity,  broken  away  from  "set  and 
prescribed  form."  As  the  following  is  the  result  of  an 
earnest  desire  to  find  if  that  can  be  done  with  safety  and 
to  advantage,  this  fact  may  assist  in  arriving  at  a  con- 
clusion. Does  it  strengthen  or  weaken  the  force  of  ex- 
pression— must  it  be  set  down  to  profit  or  loss? 

You  will  also  see  that  I  have  accepted  the  conclusions 
of  scientists ;  padded  and  strengthened  them  by  analogy  ; 
have  related  the  isolated  facts,  and  drawn  conclusions, 
many  of  which,  as  far  as  I  know,  are  original  (as  the 
word  is  used).  Please  give  these  words  their  full  value. 
Perfect  form  is  not  claimed,  nor  originality,  except  in 
arrangement  and  in  conclusions  drawn — much  that  is 
familiar  will  be  found,  but  with  a  new  light. 

Of  course,  we  none  of  us  originate  facts  and  they  re- 
main ;  though  we  do  not  accept  them  until  we  develop  eyes 
to  see.  After  reaching  conclusions,  I  have  found  them 
summed  up  clearly  by  some  one  or  more  of  the  great  ones 
of  earth,  and  have  thus  quoted  freely  to  give  authority 
which  my  own  unsupported  words  could  not  carry.  (It 
is  said,  "to  quote  effectively  is  equal  to  originating  the 
passage  quoted.") 

No  writer  is  expected  to  find  both  words  and  complete 
understanding.  Many  there  are  who  cannot  read  a  page 
of  Browning,  Emerson,  Carlyle,  or  the  Bible  understand- 
ingly,  but  the  fault  is  not  entirely  with  the  writers,  as 

24 


Introductory 


all  know.  We  must  recognize  the  imperfection  of  human 
expression  and  language  and  do  our  best  to  reach  a 
common  ground  of  understanding.  Anyway,  this  is  what 
I  want  to  say,  and  the  following  is  the  way  in  which  I 
have  to  say  it. 

When  the  cult  of  Nietzsche*  is  said  to  be  superseding 
the  philosophy  of  Hegel  in  modern  thought,  a  statement 
which  can  scarcely  be  credited  after  considering  the 
influence  of  Adam  Smith,  J.  A.  Symonds,  Mrs.  Brown- 
ing, George  Eliot,  Keats,  Stevenson,  with  hosts  of  others 
of  delicate  physique,  and  contrasting  them  with  Corbett, 
Sullivan,  and  others  of  their  class,  whose  perfect  physical 
development  is  evident  and  is  their  only  strength,  the 
theory  that  the  physically  strongest  are  the  fittest  seems 
to  be  in  no  need  of  refutation.  When  we  see  sin,  sick- 
ness, and  suffering  increasing,  no  apology  is  needed  by 
those  who  are  of  the  Christian  thought,  if  they  register  a 
protest  and  try  to  stem  the  current. 

I  do  not  intend  to  make  positive  statements,  no  matter 
how  firm  may  be  convictions.  I  appreciate  Lowell's 
remarks  in  the  beginning  of  "Democracy"  to  the  full : 
when  one  has  been  on  the  heights  with  Jesus,  Plato, 
Aristotle,  Goethe,  indeed  he  walks  humbly.  In  that  spirit 
then  I  ask:  Is  not  this  reasonable?  Is  there  anything 
here  which  "insults  the  soul"?  And  are  there  not  (lightly 
and  imperfectly  sketched)  foundations  here  on  which  vast 
structures  may  be  safely  raised? 

I  have  followed  certain  accepted  facts  to  what  appear 
to  be  their  logical  conclusions,  often  surprising  myself. 
While  in  the  line  of  my  own  intuition  and  convictions, 
I  do  not  think  them  colored  thereby. 

*  See  chapter  on  Nietzsche. 

25 


Introductory 


If  every  reader  expects  to  grasp  the  entire  definite 
underlying  thought  at  one  perusal,  more  will  be  demanded 
than  can  be  attained  in  any  other  book  worth  reading; 
and  nothing  would  be  gained,  as  it  would  all  have  been 
understood  before.  Is  it  not  often  the  result  from  read- 
ing a  book  that  we  unconsciously  (almost  vaguely)  get 
the  ideas  and  later  they  are  assimilated  and  become  more 
definite  and  practical  in  our  minds  ? — though  we  may  not, 
at  the  later  time,  be  sure  where  we  have  received  them. 
I  see,  in  this,  one  way  for  the  average  thought  to  advance. 

I  especially  ask  the  reader  to  notice  what  I  say,  not 
what  he  or  she  thinks  I  say.  No  one  knows  better  than 
the  writer  that  much  more  material  might  be  brought  to 
bear,  but  as  I  am  anxious  to  make  one  point  clear  I  have 
endeavored  to  be  as  wise  in  what  is  left  unsaid  as  in 
what  is  said.  One  class  of  modern  readers  think  any 
Foreword  or  Preface  of  more  than  doubtful  value;  but 
many,  more  thoughtful,  readers  always  read  these  pages 
with  greatest  interest  before  reading  the  main  part  of  a 
book,  and  again  afterward.  The  writer  knows  no  better 
way  of  answering  questions  likely  to  come  to  the  mind 
of  the  reader,  or  forestalling  criticism  which  is  apt  to 
be  hastily  pronounced,  on  some  one  part  instead  of  on  the 
whole. 


PREFACE 

THE  following  statements  are  often  received  with 
nervous  laughter,  as  if  they  were  funny  and  dis- 
missed without  the  serious   consideration  which 
is  their  due  as  Tragedies. 

In  Persia  and  many  -other  countries  the  men  are  taught 
by  their  religion  never  to  listen  to  anything  a  woman  says, 
but  to  do  exactly  the  opposite  from  anything  she  may 
suggest;  that  a  woman  has  no  soul;  she  is  not  to  be 
allowed  to  read  the  Koran  (their  bible)  or  to  make  a 
prayer.  In  Russia  a  man  is  not  only  allowed  to  knock 
his  wife  down,  but  is  taught  at  marriage  by  his  "religion" 
that  he  must  do  so  once  a  week — and  that  time  may  come 
before  or  a  few  hours  after,  the  wife  has  become  a 
mother;  when  she  is  about  getting  meals  or  at  work  in 
the  field. 

In  Algeria  conditions  in  regard  to  women  are  un- 
speakable; also  in  China  and  Japan.  In  all  Oriental 
countries  a  man  may  divorce  his  wife  without  further 
ceremony  if  she  talks  too  much  to  suit  him,  or  his  relatives. 
That  contemptible  thing,  the  ducking  stool  (the  weapon 
of  men  of  power)  must  have  been,  in  its  time,  an  effective 
silencer;  also  so-called  witchcraft  persecutions  and  the 
word  "obey,"*  the  relic  of  "rule  and  morals  a  la  Turk" 

*That  one  adult  human  being  should  be  obliged,  or  allowed, 
to  swear  at  the  altar  to  obey  another  is  an  unthinkable  ab- 
surdity, and  must  end  in  wrong  conditions. 

''Who  best  can  suffer,  best  can  do; 

Best  reign,  who  first  hath  well  obeyed." 

Both  should  be  obedient  to  God ;  Christ,  Truth,  the  head  of  the 
house— and  there  an  end.  Who  giveth  this  woman  (chattel, 
etc.),  indeed! 

27 


Preface 

in  the  marriage  service.  In  many  countries,  even  now, 
women  have  no  rights  man  is  bound  to  respect.  We  can 
easily  see  why  it  might  be  more  than  possible  that  woman, 
or  the  feminine  principle,  is  not  now  expressed  in  any 
country.  It  is  beginning  to  be  realized  forcibly  that  con- 
ditions in  all  countries  are  far  from  ideal.  We  must  also 
acknowledge  that  the  direct  influence  of  woman  (to 
whom  has  been  given  the  only  immaculate  conception 
of  character  ever  vouchsafed  to  humanity)  has  been  in- 
consistently left  out  in  council  and  achievement.  Incon- 
ceivable blindness  as  this  is  seen  to  be,  it  is  none  the  less 
as  true  as  it  is  disastrous. 

That  even  advanced  women  as  a  class  (with  one  excep- 
tion) now  only  express  the  opinion  of  men  is  true,  but 
not  creditable  to  men,  or  right  or  helpful. 

The  following  is  an  effort  to  show  what  woman  really 
stands  for  and  what  she  should  be  allowed  to  express 
for  the  good  of  the  race.  That  she  stands  for  peace  and 
purity  no  one  who  thinks  will  doubt.  That  she  is  not 
allowed  freedom  to  express  peace  and  purity  I  am  trying 
to  make  as  clear  to  others  as  it  is  to  me. 

Many  a  woman  will  understand  the  thought  ex- 
pressed in  the  story  of  "Chitra,"  taken  from  East  India 
books  of  looo  B.  C.  "The  Princess  Chitra's  grandsire 
had  been  promised  by  his  gods  an  unbroken  line  of  male 
descent,  but  it  was  broken  in  Chitra,  so  she  was  brought 
up  as  a  son — one  day  clad  as  a  youth  she  meets  Arjuna, 
the  hero  of  the  Kuru  clan  and  the  idol  of  her  dreams. 
The  following  day  she,  though  unattractively  plain,  dresses 
richly  in  woman's  attire  and  seeks  him.  He  is  very  short 
with  her  and  tells  her  he  is  vowed  to  twelve  years' 
celibacy.  She  then  asks  the  gods  to  grant  her  superb 

28 


Preface 

beauty  for  one  day;  it  is  granted  her  for  a  year;  then 
she  meets  Arjuna  again;  he  forgets  his  vow  and  kneels 
at  her  feet ;  she  reminds  him  of  his  vow  and  says :  "It  is 
not  I ;  go,  my  hero,  go ;  woo  not  falsehood,  offer  not  your 
heart  to  an  illusion."  But  she  finally  answers  his  call 
and  accepts  him  as  her  husband ;  and  then  she  says :  "I 
woke  to  find  that  my  body  had  become  my  own  rival; 
it  is  my  hateful  task  to  deck  her  every  day,  to  send  her 
to  my  beloved  and  see  her  caressed  by  him.  O  God ! 
take  back  thy  boon.  .  .  .  It  is  the  labor  of  a  life- 
time to  make  one's  true  self  known  and  honored;  had  I 
but  needed  time  I  could  win  his  heart  by  slow  degrees 
and  ask  no  help  of  the  god."*  (Page  57.) 

Arjuna  is  puzzled.  "I  never  seem  to  know  you  right," 
he  says.  "I  grope  for  that  ultimate  you,  that  bare  sim- 
plicity of  truth."  The  next  day  he  finds  it :  "The  gift  I 
proudly  bring  you  is  the  heart  of  a  woman."  Then  Arjuna 
says :  "Beloved,  my  heart  is  full."  "First  must  woman 
see  this  truly — truly  know  herself  the  place  she  should 
fill,  then  she  can  reveal  it  to  the  man."  This,  woman  is 
now  learning  and  teaching  to  man,  and  this  is  the  woman's 
movement,  slow  of  growth  but  now  culminating,  thank 
God.  It  all  condenses  itself  in  the  sentence :  "They  shall 
know  themselves  into  one"  (taken  from  Browning's 
"Ring  and  the  Book"),  then  shall  we  see  unity  of  purpose 
and  harmonious  living,  instead  of  its  opposite,  at  present 
made  evident  in  the  number  of  divorces  and  separations, 
wherein  men  and  women  appear  to  be  and  probably  are 
at  cross  purposes.  They  are  of  "minds  many"  when  they 

*  We  find  the  same  thought  expressed  B.  C  600  in  a  poem  by 
Sappho,  whose  brilliant  writings  were  nearly  all  destroyed,  and 
her  character  attacked  and  blackened  because  she  was  an  intelli- 
gent woman. 

29 


Preface 

should  be  of  "one  mind,"  or  in  accord.  We  are  all  of 
"one  mind"  in  regard  to  the  fact  that  twice  two  equals 
four;  it  is  always  the  same,  in  Egypt,  Japan,  or  in  the 
United  States;  everyone  can  use  it,  it  is  inexhaustible. 
That  is  the  nature  of  Truth.  Now,  suppose  that  some 
thought,  twice  two  equals  five,  some  that  it  equalled 
three  and  one-half,  and  so  on;  "minds  many"  on  the 
subject  would  soon  bring  chaos  and  dire  confusion.  All 
being  of  one  mind  will  bring  unity,  not  uniformity,  as 
each  may  apply  the  Truth  to  his  or  her  own  need,  in  an 
individual  way.  We  have  an  appalling  number  of  national 
and  state  laws;  all  are  evaded  and  amended;  we  need 
only  one  law,  the  law  of  Love,  as  all  will  admit.  It  is 
"laws  many"  and  minds  many  which  gives  trouble ;  result- 
ing naturally  in  the  most  disastrous  war  known  to  history. 


FOREWORD 

WE  must  begin  with  "the  nature  of  formalities," 
the  right  understanding  of  which  is  a  key  un- 
locking much.  It  is  certain  that  "every  material 
law,  or  embodiment  of  an  idea,  is  but  the  symbol  of  its 
mental  or  spiritual  prototype  which  bodies  forth  an  idea 
conceived  in  the  mental  and  again  in  the  spiritual  realm" 
(a  symbol  of  a  symbol).  In  order  to  build,  for  instance, 
a  chair,  one  must  first  have  a  knowledge  of  certain  laws 
of  mechanics,  then  get  the  idea  and  build  the  chair. 
Knowledge  is  the  first  requisite.  It  presupposes  discipline, 
sacrifice  (through  which  comes  mastery),  and  constitutes 
the  only  freedom.  The  better  knowledge  of  the  law  one 
has,  the  better  chair  can  be  built.  Then  all  the  chairs  in 
the  world  may  be  destroyed,  and  we  can  still  make  more, 
because  we  have  the  idea.  The  idea  is  mental,  inde- 
structible, real,  while  the  chair  (its  material  embodiment) 
is  destructible — as  a  chair.  In  other  and  more  perfect 
words,  "The  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal  and  the 
things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal."  We  would  say 
that  the  chair  was  real  and  the  idea  visionary.  We  must 
reverse  the  testimony  of  our  senses  in  this  case,  as  in  many 
others.  Only  that  which  is  indestructible  is  real.  The 
chair  is  but  the  symbol  of  the  idea,  though  it  appears 
otherwise.  All  that  exists  is  the  manifestation  of  mind — 
first  get  the  idea  and  then  manifest  it. 

So  the  painter  embodies  his  highest  idea  or  concep- 
tion in  a  beautiful  picture;  the  poet,  his  highest  idea  or 
conception  in  a  beautiful  poem ;  and  the  musician  his  in 
a  beautiful  composition.  Milton,  perhaps,  embodied  his 
highest  conception  in  "Paradise  Lost/'  This  was  the 
child  of  his  brain.  It  was  not  apparently  a  matter  of 


Foreword 


cooperation  (still  less  was  it  so  in  the  Appassionata  or 
the  Sistine  Madonna),  though  we  are  told  that  it  takes 
two,  or  more,  to  generate  thought.  The  character  con- 
ceptions of  Shakespeare  are  mentally  embodied,  and  are 
humanly  immortal.  Mary  embodied  her  highest  concep- 
tion in  the  flesh,  that  being  perhaps  the  only  way  it  could 
be  brought  to  the  material  comprehension  of  man  at  that 
time ;  and  any  idea  or  conception  of  the  Christ*  charac- 
ter, no  matter  whose  it  may  be,  must  be  an  immaculate 
conception,  and  need  not  (apparently)  be  a  matter  of 
cooperation.f 

We  must  see  that  it  symbolizes  the  conception  of  the 
Christ  character,  which  will  come  to  every  soul;  and 
must  of  its  nature,  be  an  immaculate  conception  to  be 
embodied  in  our  lives.  And  so  the  immaculate  concep- 
tion, taken  up  into  mind  where  it  belongs,  is  a  fact  in 
nature.  No  person  should  sneer  at  it,  and  say  we  are 
"expected  to  believe  that  Jesus  had  only  one  parent," 
because  that  is  a  gross  way  of  looking  at  this  spiritual 
truth,  and  is  harmful. 

That  form  of  expression  is  vital  and  necessary,  as  we 
will  find  when  we  fully  understand.  Till  then,  let  us 
stand  breathless  before  the  mystery;  be  thankful  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  born  (made  manifest)  in  Bethlehem, 
as  becomes  us;  and  that  there  has  been  an  immaculate 
conception.  It  would  seem  that  those  who  handle  these 
subjects  carelessly  are  like  children  playing  with  dynamite, 
endangering  themselves  and  others.  Mary  changed  the 
human  law  and  its  method  of  generating,  proving  God 
to  be  the  Father  of  man,  as  Jesus  put  to  silence  material 
law  when  he  walked  on  the  water,  turned  the  water  into 
wine;  and  performed  his  other  miracles  (wonders),  in 
fulfillment  of  Spiritual  (the  only  real)  law. 

*The  Christ  is  the  Truth  which  Jesus  lived,  and  Truth  is 
immaculate  always. 

t  See  Appendix  B,  page  198. 

32 


"Is  it  nothing  to  you,  Oh  ye  that  pass  byf" 

CHAPTER  I 

IF  we  can  give  woman  (as  a  type — not  as  we  see  her 
manifested)  her  proper  place  in  the  scheme  of  life 
manifestation,  we  can  more  intelligently  work  and 
think  toward  true  progress  and  helpfulness.  Until  this 
is  done,  I  believe  there  can  be  little  real  progress.  It  is 
a  basic  problem,  and  must  be  solved,  else  we  are  working 
at  a  disadvantage  quite  too  great  to  be  overcome. 

I  think  we  may  all  agree  on  this  statement  of  the 
vexed  question.  It  is  not  what  woman  wants,  but  what 
ought  she  to  have  for  the  good  of  the  race?  Not  man's 
rights  nor  woman's  rights,  but  the  rights  of  children,  the 
rights  of  humanity.  The  right  of  every  soul  to  its  full 
possibility  of  development.  The  ballot  is  merely  the 
A.  B.  C.  of  the  movement.  It  is  not  possible  for  one- 
half  the  people  to  be  mistakenly  treated  and  the  whole 
not  suffer.  Who  is  willing  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
doing  this  ?  It  will  be  well  for  us  if  we  can  set  this  right, 
not  letting  mere  opinion  or  prejudice  stand  in  the  way. 

In  the  evolution  of  cell  life,  we  are  told  when  the 
simple  cell  evolved  into  the  semi-sexual  cell,  death  came. 
According  to  material  science  the  cell  is  the  microcosm 
of  which  the  human  body  is  the  macrocosm.  As  in  the 
microcosm,  so  in  the  macrocosm.  When  the  simple 
human  organism  (Adam)  evolved  into  the  semi-sexual, 
Adam  and  Eve,  death  came  as  a  result.  Thus  we  see  that 
the  Bible  account  of  the  so-called  material  creation  is 
scientifically  correct,  according  to  noted  so-called  material 
scientists;  we  will  again,  for  purposes  of  illustration,  at 
least,  use  the  Bible  account  here,  as  it  is  the  only  thing 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

of  the  kind  to  which  we  have  access.*  Then  it  appears,  as 
evolution  declares,  that  life  manifestation  (creation)  was 
in  the  ascending  scale ;  woman  as  last,  would  be  highest ; 
or  to  use  a  better  expression,  more  spiritual.  This  we 
have  stated  to  us  over  and  over  again  in  every  conceivable 
form  of  language,  though  from  the  existing  state  of 
affairs,  which  is  in  some  respects  deplorable,  we  can 
scarcely  realize  or  acknowledge  its  truth.  But  the  fact 
remains,  those  taking  an  adverse  view  are  simply  not 
inspired. 

Again  taking  the  second  Bible  account,  Adam,  man, 
was  formed  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  woman  of  once 
refined  (?)  clay.  An  extension,  another  side  of  character, 
was  given;  the  receptive  condition  (that  which  makes 
us  receptive  to  higher  things)  was  symbolized  more 
perfectly  than  before.  The  appeal  of  the  serpent  was  to 
the  woman.  To  her  he  gave  three  reasons;  to  the  man 
she  gave  no  reason.  We  know  the  result,  the  so-called 
fall.  Then  it  was  said  to  the  woman,  as  the  result  of 
this,  not  as  a  command,  nor  that  it  was  right,  but  as  a 
result  of  the  "fall";  "Thy  desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband, 
and  he  shall  rule  over  thee."  The  lower  nature  ruling 
the  higher  constitutes  a  fall,  but  does  not  make  it  right. 
(Through  this  fall  Adam  and  Eve  [mankind]  lost  their 
paradise,  thrust  themselves  out  of  Eden.)  If  we  are  to 
be  personal,  as  we  usually  are;  in  Gen.  1-24,  we  read  that 
God  "drove  out  the  man" ;  nothing  is  said  regarding  the 
woman  in  this  connection. 

We  say  men  have  more  animal  spirits  than  women. 
They  hunt,  go  to  war,  etc.,  while  to  women,  ideally  typi- 
cally speaking,  is  given  the  care  of  children  (souls). 

*A  striking  fact. 

34 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One1' 

Compare  the  army  of  young  women  who  (though  ham- 
pered by  machine  made  routine)  are  teaching  in  our 
schools,  elevating  themselves  and  humanity  through  the 
children  under  their  influence,  trying  to  conserve  life,  with 
the  corresponding  class  of  young  men  engaged  in  war  or 
preparation  for  it,  destroying  life ;  and  a  wide  difference 
in  results  must  be.  apprehended.  The  sights,  sounds, 
and  practices  of  war  are  (in  a  general  way)  not  up- 
lifting. 

As  is  well  known  all  "civilized"  countries  were  using 
three-fourths  of  their  incomes  to  pay  for  "watch  dogs," 
thus  leaving  one- fourth  to  feed,  clothe,  house,  educate, 
and  provide  for  the  future  of  the  family  (first  deducting 
a  large  sum  which  goes  for  compulsory  medical  examina- 
tion). Just  now  (1914-1918)  we  have  a  good  object 
lesson  on  war,  with  a  prospect  (in  common  with  other 
nations)  of  national  bankruptcy  and  becoming  "beggars 
before  barracks"  in  view. 

The  proportion  of  women  in  penitentiaries  is  very 
small,  two  women  to  about  one  hundred  men;  showing 
that  men  have  more  animal  passion  than  women.  The 
assertion  of  a  number  of  men  of  this  class  that  they 
were  brought  to  this  state  through  the  fault  of  wife  (or 
some  other  woman)  is  to  be  expected;  the  Adam  spirit 
is  strong,  but  the  Adam  story  is  fast  losing  force  and 
dignity.  "In  the  first  verse  of  the  first  chaptef  of  the 
first  book  of  Egotism,  it  is  written."  True, 

handsome  young  women  often  escape  conviction  at  the 
hands  of  men  juries:  a  fellow  feeling  sometimes  makes 
us  wondrous  kind ;  but  for  one  woman  who  thus  escapes, 

35 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

many  men  criminals  are  never  even  brought  to  trial,  as  is 
well  known.* 

On  the  other  hand,  and  by  way  of  contrast,  we  are 
accustomed  to  see  an  average  of  about  six  women  to  one 
man  in  our  (Protestant)  churches;  and  say  that  women 
are  more  easily  affected  by  religious  ideas,  etc.  Then  this 
is  not  a  weakness,  as  some  have  imagined,  but  an  evidence 
of  right  understanding. 

It  is  true  that  they  have  not  often  in  the  past  been 
among  the  great  religious  leaders;  but  what  wonder, 
with  the  words  of  St.  Paul  (the  circumstances  regarding 
which  are  not  generally  understood)  ringing  in  their  ears, 
and  the  fact  that  a  husband  was  justified  in  getting  a 
divorce  or  knocking  the  wife  down  if  she  talked  too  much 
to  suit  him.  She  has  never  been  allowed  to  speak,  has 
not  even  been  encouraged  to  think,  in  fact;  has  been 
discouraged  and  wet  blanketed  by  the  jealous  and  small 
minded  of  both  sexes ;  but  now  that  she  has  worked  her 
way  out  in  a  small  degree,  she  is  showing  what  she  can 
do  toward  leading  in  higher  ethics — even  against  the 
tyranny  of  custom  and  public  opinion.  Very  few  of 
us  realize,  as  we  speak  those  words,  their  frightful 
paralyzing  import.  The  car  of  Juggernaut  is  a  trifling 
thing  in  comparison. f 

*One  man  of  experience  who  is  a  truth  seeker,  calls  attention 
to  a  number  of  women  murderers  who  have  been  acquitted; 
without  discerning  that  their  acquittal  was  due  to  the,  fact  that 
the  men  jurors  considered  them  justified  by  the  brutal  acts  of 
the  man  killed.  And  if  attention  is  to  be  called  to  this  condition 
it  should  be  noted  that  only  one  out  of  75  murderers  receives  the 
death  penalty;  and  of  those  75  the  records  show  not  more  than 
one  would  be  a  woman.  It  is  encouraging  to  note  that  men  are 
beginning  to  consider  the  side  of  the  woman  in  the  case,  as 
never  before. 

fMany  otherwise  really  fine  women  who  have,  and  always 
have  had,  a  certain  amount  of  independence  (which  comes  of 

36 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

This  has  not  been  a  country  of  free  speech  for  woman. 
She  has  always  been  afraid  of  offending  some  man  on 
whom  she  was  dependent  (?)  and,  without  realizing  it, 
has  repressed  her  real  sentiments.  It  was  a  stern  neces- 
sity, and  she  felt  it  so.  Man  is  not  to  blame:  he  simply 
did  not  "know."  She  was  helpless  and  hopeless.  She 
had  only  one  chance  of  expression,  and  that  purely 
physical.  Is  that  sufficient?  True  it  is  that  the  average 
man  also  thinks  as  custom  (man)  decrees,  while  woman, 
too,  must  think  as  man  decrees.  Is  not  the  feminine, 
the  woman  thought,  left  out  in  this  plan?  Can  we  think 
to  advantage  except  as  we  complete  the  thought  in  word 
and  action  ?  Life  is  expression,  and  when  we  understand 
that  woman's  knowledge  is  not  the  same  as  man's,  but  is 
just  as  much  needed  for  the  development  of  humanity 
as  his;  that  while  repressing  her  we  are  injuring  the  race, 
and  justifying  ourselves  for  it  with  utterly  selfish  sophis- 
tries, we  will  have  taken  a  long  step  upward.  George 
Eliot  says,  "That  which  is  peculiar  to  woman's  mental 
modification  will  be  found  to  be  a  necessary  complement 
to  the  truth  and  beauty  of  life." 

Almost  any  woman  will  admit,  if  she  takes  thought, 
that  in  a  general  way  she  does  not  express  herself,  but 
temporizes  and  agrees  as  far  as  possible  with  every  one, 
for  the  sake  of  semi  peace  and  popularity  in  the  family, 
neighborhood,  and  town.  This  is  considered  commend- 
able. She  does  not  allow  herself  to  think,  except  along 

having  private  means)  seem  to  be  positively  callous  through 
lack  of  sympathy  or  understanding  of  those  who  have  not 
even  that  type  of  independence;  these  women,  and  the  men  of 
their  class,  are  of  the  very  highest  type  of  Adam-material 
"man";  there  is  apt  to  be  little  of  real,  or  spiritual  "charity" 
in  them;  they  swim  with  the  tide  of  merely  human  affairs; 
they  are  very  popular,  and  receive  much  applause. 

37 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  File" 

lines  and  ways  set  and  prescribed  for  her  by  those  in 
authority;  she  is  even  led  to  think  and  to  say  that  she 
likes  to  do  this,  also  for  the  sake  of  semi  peace,  and 
because  it  is  easier.  Now,  she  is  told  she  may  think 
along  the  lines  of  eugenics,  as  far  as  certain  noted  people 
have  led  the  way,  and  in  the  way  these  may  prescribe. 
Ten  years  ago  these  things  were  entirely  taboo.  Really, 
she  is  only  just  getting  out  where,  in  some  countries, 
she  dares  to  say  "her  soul  is  her  own,"  and  to  stand  for  it. 

Men  are  also  bound  by  limitations  but  not  so  hope- 
lessly as  is  woman.  A  woman  who  does  see  clearly  and 
has  courage  to  express  her  thought  must  expect  to  be  met 
by  the  Philistine  thought  with  scorn  and  partial  ostracism, 
which  is  often  an  advantage  in  many  ways,  giving  her 
more  time  to  live  her  own  life;  but  her  smile  is  apt  to 
be  somewhat  rueful  as  she  endures  "the  spurns  which 
patient  merit  often  takes."  We  should  realize  how 
fallible  and  unworthy  are  mortal  snap  judgments  and 
inferences,  with  their  often  inhuman  consequences. 

Woman  is,  and  has  been  in  the  past,  so  handicapped, 
so  at  a  disadvantage,  one  cannot  but  be  glad  to  see  her 
getting  on  a  somewhat  more  equal  footing,  even  though 
it  be  to  deplore  at  the  same  time  (however  mistakenly) 
the  shattered  ideals  of  the  past  and  the  unrest  that  is 
bound  to  come  in  the  transition  stage  of  any  great  move- 
ment. It  only  proves  that  this  movement,  which  is  sure, 
if  slow,  is  in  the  direction  of  progress ;  that  at  last  the 
higher  nature  in  mankind  will  find  itself,  know  its  value, 
and  gently  lead  humanity  to  better  things,  to  something 
real.  We  have  here  in  all  this,  Goethe's  philosophy  con- 
densed as  in  a  nutshell,  in  the  closing  lines  of  the  Helena, 
written  after  a  long  life  of  extraordinarily  varied  ex- 
perience : 

38 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

"All  of  mere  transient  date,  as  symbol  showeth. 
Here  the  inadequate  to  fullness  groweth. 
Here  the  ineffable  wrought  is  in  love. 
The  ever  womanly  draws  us  above." 

Dr.  Gunsaulus  presents  this  view  in  his  "Man  of 
Galilee."  He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  women  were 
first  to  recognize  and  accept  the  Truth  (the  risen  Christ). 
The  men  doubted  what  was  told  them.  He  says  the  mis- 
sion of  woman  to  humanity  was  foreshadowed  in  this, 
and  quotes,  "The  ever  womanly  draws  us  above." 

To  Mary,  the  woman,  was  given  the  only  immaculate 
(pure)  conception  of  character  ever  given  to  humanity. 
Any  idea  or  conception  of  the  Christ  character  must,  of 
its  nature,  be  immaculate.  We  all  feel  this  to  be  true, 
but  have  not  seen  how  to  reconcile  faith  and  reason 
with  appearances  (for  which  men  are  largely,  if  not 
wholly,  responsible).  The  fact  that  woman  has  suf- 
fered most  only  bears  out  the  analogy.  This  is  what 
would  naturally  happen.  The  higher  the  nature,  the 
greater  the  consequent  suffering  from  the  fall. 

All  through  this  we  find  a  chance  to  reverse  the  testi- 
mony of  our  senses,  which,  it  is  proved  and  acknowledged, 
cannot  be  relied  upon  to  give  us  exact  or  truthful  im- 
pressions. Plato  says :  "We  are  misled  by  the  senses 
when  we  seek  knowledge  through  them.  They  are  the 
source  of  all  our  sinning.  We  should  die  to  them,  and, 
by  contemplation  of  and  obedience  to  the  ideal  being,  we 
shall  become  more  and  more  beautiful  in  this  life;  and 
after,  we  shall  enter  the  ideal  world  where  we  shall  be 
with  perfect  souls."  Does  not  Christianity  also  teach  this, 
and  more? 

39 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Before  going  further,  a  digression  may  well  be  made 
for  the  sake  of  a  certain  order  of  minds.  And  so,  my 
dear  friend,  you  say  you  have  plenty  of  means,  a  good 
husband,  and  all  the  rights  you  want;  and  for  that  very 
reason  are  you  not  responsible  to  those  who  have  not, 
and  who  are  not  good  husbands?  They  are  a  legion, 
when  including  the  world,  our  universe,  as  we  must; 
they  are  all,  the  millions  of  little  brown  brothers  and 
sisters,  our  brothers  and  sisters,  and  we  all  suffer  or  gain 
together.  Advantages  and  privileges  bring  responsibilities 
always.  Unless  we  respond,  our  advantages  are  worse 
than  useless :  we  would  be  better  without  them.  To  whom 
much  is  given,  of  him  much  should  be  required.  We 
are  our  sister's  as  well  as  our  brother's  keepers,  even 
though  Cain-like  we  try  to  evade  the  responsibility. 

Says  the  Chicago  Vice  Commission:  "The  time  has 
passed  when  the  social  evil,  or  any  other  great  evil,  that 
affects  society,  must  be  spoken  of  with  bated  breath. 
Adequate  information  must  precede  annihilation,  which 
is  the  ultimate  of  Christian  intelligence." 

Pioneer  work  is  ever  fraught  with  hardship  (in  an 
earthly  sense).  It  is  never  smooth  or  easy,  either  in 
new  country,  fields,  or  in  new  fields  of  thought.  It  is 
work  that  must  be  done  by  some,  that  life  be  easier, 
happier,  and  safer  for  those  who  come  after.  It  has  all 
the  characteristics  of  a  cross — but  to  "quaff  the  cup"  one 
"must  not  shrink."  Material  results  are  not  evident,  as 
in  most  work ;  one  must  be  content  to  be  called  a  failure 
(but  in  what  glorious  company!)  by  those  who  like 
every  one  to  go  about  the  Father's  business  in  their  way. 
Those  who  cannot,  or  think  they  do  not  want  to  com- 
prehend, have  been,  are  now,  in  the  majority. 

40 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

To  discuss  impersonal  principle  of  any  sort  is  never 
indelicate.  Indelicacy  is  only  evident  when  personal  ap- 
plication is  resorted  to.  Principles  can  never  be  personal 
as  each  personal  experience  is  a  variant,  while  principle 
is  fixed. 

If  there  is  a  cess-pool  in  your  vicinity  which  is  breed- 
ing disease,  you  do  not  say,  "Let  it  alone ;  it  is  too  filthy 
to  touch."  Quite  the  contrary.  If  the  thing  itself  is 
pure,  thought  about  it  will  not  make  it  impure.  If  you 
consider  thought  of  how  to  right  an  evil  filthy,  what 
must  the  thing  itself  be?  Let  us  remove  the  cess-pool 
if  possible.  The  young  (and  some  who  are  older)  are 
apt  to  scorn  this  thought.  In  all  likelihood  they  will 
see  it  in  a  different  light  when  they  are  more  mature  in 
years  and  thought,  so  let  them  not  be  too  confident. 

A  modern  writer,  whose  sayings  are  sometimes  wise 
and  many  times  otherwise,  has  said,  "We  are  mired  in  the 
superstition  that  sex  is  unclean."  His  strong  statement 
is  undoubtedly  partially  true;  but  why  is  it  true  and  is 
it  merely  a  superstition?  It  is  for  woman  to  insist  that 
this  subject  be  ventilated  until  we  find  out  why.  A  reliable 
daily  paper  makes  this  statement:  "Oriental  population 
so  reeks  with  immorality  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent 
of  the  people  are  diseased.  This  applies  not  only  to 
adults  of  both  sexes,  but  to  mere  children  as  well."  As 
is  well  known,  latest  estimates  are  said  to  show  that 
seventy-five  per  cent  or  more  of  our  men  belong  to  this 
appalling  and  astonishing  condition,  with  effects  still 
wider  spread  among  innocent  and  suffering  women  and 
children. 

General  Gorgas  says  that  more  men  were  taken  from 
active  service  in  the  eight  months  before  May,  1918,  from 

41 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

this  cause  than  from  injuries.  This  is  just  one  of  many 
statements  of  this  kind  which  are  being  authorita- 
tively made  with  insistent  constancy  that  is  ominous. 
Zones  have  been  established  and  segregated  districts, 
when  they  were  near  the  camp,  wiped  out.  The  soldier 
is  punished  if  he  refuses  treatment,  not  for  contracting 
the  disease — be  it  observed  with  interest — and  all  must 
be  examined  for  this  horrible  thing  every  two  weeks. 
Think  what  that  means  to  clean-minded  men.  The 
suggestion  is  bad  and  one  would  fear  that  they  must 
lose  self-respect,  if  nothing  worse.  *Teach  them  all 
that  self-control  is  the  mark  of  a  real  man.  To  take 
these  splendid  fellows  and  teach  them  the  stuff  that  is 
taught  them  about  this  thing  and  about  women,  is 
shameful;  it  is  nauseating.  Can  it  be  right  to  take  our 
strongest  men  into  such  environment;  inoculate  them 
again  and  again  with  poison  virus,  both  materially  and 
mentally?  Many  of  them  resent  it  all,  but  some  seem 
to  be  satisfied.  What  is  to  be  the  effect  on  their  char- 
acter? 

We  are  all  familiar  with  above  statements  and  others 
like  them.  Two  leading  physicians  have  recently  an 

*One  would  think  that  Doctors  themselves  would  recoil  from 
such  morbid  indecency,  especially  when  the  women  co-respon- 
dents are  included,  as  they  generally  are,  when  they,  and  not 
the  men,  are  called  "bad." 

The  vice  regulations,  by  which  all  cases  of  this  disease  are 
supposed  to  be  reported,  are  not  complied  with,  and  of  the  poor 
female  creatures  who  are  supposed  to  report  for  examination 
at  frequent  stated  times,  only  a  small  proportion  comply;  in 
Paris  only  about  five  percent.  So  this  abomination  does  not 
even  serve  any  purpose.  The  most  horrible  part  of  it  is  that 
often  innocent,  decent  women  and  girls  are  arrested  and  sub- 
jected to  these  examinations,  and  other  brutal  treatment,  never 
recovering  from  the  shock,  which  often  ends  in  self  sought 
death  for  the  victim.  Have  we  no  pity  that  we  give  such  power 
to  these  irresponsible  men,  who  are  themselves  victims  of  a 
faulty  environment? 

42 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

nounced  that  ninety  per  cent  of  the  people  are  tubercular ; 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  children  are  said  to  be  defec- 
tive; insanity  is  said  to  be  increasing.  In  one  city  alone 
fifty- four  thousand  degenerates  are  said  (with  authority) 
to  be  walking  the  streets,  who  have  committed  the  most 
atrocious  crimes  against  little,  innocent,  helpless  girls.  It 
almost  makes  one  tremble  to  see  any  man  touch  or  look  at 
a  little  girl  or  young  -lady  carelessly,  even  his  own  child. 
The  effect  on  the  child  should  be  considered,  which  it  is 
not  at  the  present  time.  See  Rousseau  (Confessions). 
This  evil  is  the  more  insidious  because  it  is  often  un- 
recognized by  those  involved. 

We  speak  of  preventive  medicine,  of  stamping  out 
epidemics ;  yet  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  we  have  more 
and  worse  permanent  epidemics  than  ever  before.  And 
Adam  is  still  naming  material  disease  creations  which 
were  not  known  in  former  years.  The  epidemic  of  opera- 
tions alone,  with  accompanying  suffering  and  expense,  is 
appalling. 

Now,  to  take  what  will  seem  to  be  a  different  line,  but 
which  leads  to  the  same  gate:  "To  adulterate"  is  to 
vitiate  at  the  primal  source.  If  we  take  the  commonly 
accepted  meaning  of  the  word,  one  can  readily  see  what 
it  is  to  vitiate  the  primal  source  of  being  or  life.  This 
is  indeed  a  crime.  We  have  not  words  to  express  its 
enormity.  What  is  adultery  ?  Jesus,  who  never  married, 
but  was  a  Universal  Brother,  expresses  Himself  plainly, 
showing  what  can  be  proved  true,  that  it  is  of  thought 
as  well  as  deed.  "Whoso  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust 
after  her  hath  already  committed  adultery  with  her  in 
his  heart."  He  does  not  say  a  woman  who  is  not  his 
wife,  but  any  woman. 

43 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Where  shall  we  place  this  saying?  We  can  get  His 
meaning  from  an  illustration.  Looking  over  the  past 
(and  oriental  countries  at  the  present  time),  we  see 
woman  kept  out  of  sight  of  man,  or,  if  allowed  to  go 
abroad,  so  disguised  that  no  bit  of  physical  form  could  be 
seen.  Why  was  this,  except  that  man  could  not  look  on 
woman  without  harmful  thought?  It  was  in  the  often 
unconscious,  but  none  the  less  dangerous,  thought  of 
the  man.  Except  for  that,  it  would  not  have  affected 
him,  and  is  the  result  of  dwelling  on  the  physical  ex- 
clusively. 

In  an  article  in  a  well  known  magazine,  one  man  sees 
that  "women  are  walking  over  red  hot  plow  shares,  and 
not  always  unscathed."  Also  that  "the  male  Turk  says  : 
It  is  for  her  own  sake  woman  is  confined  to  the  Harem 
and  made  to  veil  her  face  whenever  she  walks  abroad. 
He  knows  the  effect  of  her  appearance  upon  men's  minds, 
and  he  wishes  to  shield  her  from  unlawful  thoughts  of 
men."  Why  not  suggest  that  the  men  improve  their 
thought  methods  and  thus  free  the  women.  A  woman 
writer  for  a  noted  magazine  says  :  "Men  had  to  be  cured 
of  the  habitual  impression  natural  to  self  centered  con- 
sciousness that  women  are  always  thinking  about  men  and 
were  aware  of  the  effect  on  men  of  their  every  little 
action." 

In  the  time  of  Jesus  (for  this  very  reason)  it  was 
considered  a  disgrace  for  a  man  to  talk  to  a  woman. 
Someway,  it  was  not  safe;  and  the  reason  not  being 
apprehended,  generally  speaking,  the  woman  (usually 
innocent)  was  considered  bad,  was  blamed,  while  the 
"thought"  of  man  was  the  offender — the  old  story.  Jesus 
talked  with  woman.  He  was  pure  enough  to  do  so  in 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  Oney 

the  right  way  (as  many  men  are  now),  and  that  was  one 
of  the  things  He  answered  for  with  His  life.  Public 
opinion,  an  unsafe  guide,  was  against  it. 

The  temptation  of  St.  Anthony  means  just  that.  There 
was  no  real  woman;  the  trouble  was  in  his  thought. 
There  lay  his  field  of  battle.  In  reality  it  is  all  in  the 
thought.  The  act  is  sensual,  evanescent,  and,  in  result, 
worse  than  any  other' sensual  habit  (like  drinking,  opium 
eating,  etc.)  because  through  it  life  is  lost.  Through  it 
comes  death,  just  as  surely  as  it  was  said  in  the  Bible 
and  scientific  accounts  to  come.  That  which  is  wasted 
is  ten  times  richer  than  the  blood.  It  is  life.  If  life  is 
lost,  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  death  is  the  result.  With 
death  belong  sickness  and  pain;  while  we  have  one  we 
have  the  other.  Please  note  St.  Paul's  position  in  this, 
expressed  in  the  last  of  the  VI  and  VII  chapters  of  1st 
Corinthians.  Here  he  also  speaks  of  conditions  which 
might  make  a  difference;  but  what  are  those  conditions, 
right  or  wrong?  It  is  not  for  us  to  condemn;  but  to 
recognize  and  right  the  conditions,  if  wrong. 

We  are  told  that  after  entering  a  house  of  ill  fame 
the  women  recruits  (white  slaves)  live  only  from  three 
to  ten  years  and  die  in  the  most  awful  agony  known  to 
surgery!  Sixty  thousand  every  year  in  our  country  alone, 
"ruined/'  as  far  as  we  know,  body  and  soul !  The  mental 
and  spiritual  shock  to  woman  is  greater  than  the  physical. 
Of  course,  late  hours  and  drink  bear  their  part.  There 
is  nothing  else  that  so  quickly  and  thoroughly  degrades 
the  beautiful  temple  of  the  soul  and  its  occupant.  Can 
there  be  a  sadder  sight?  What  a  price  is  here  paid  by 
these  sufferers,  ostensibly  to  protect  other  women,  but 
really  that  men  may  be  indulged  to  their  evil  limit,  to 

45 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

self  injury  as  well !  And  the  sentimental  statement  that 
women  are  the  ones  who  need  to  be  and  are  protected  by 
men  is  exploded.  It  is  only  certain  women  who  are 
protected,  and  they  are  protected  from  men.  The  men 
who  frequent  these  places  are  sadly  injured,  though  they 
are  physically  stronger,  and  are  not  so  constantly  in 
contact  with  it,  and  the  effect  is  not  so  apparent  as  in 
the  women.  Is  not  the  trail  of  the  serpent  over  it  all? 
It  were  more  merciful  to  cast  them  into  the  fiery  arms 
of  Moloch,  as  did  parents  in  olden  times — a  thought 
which  makes  us  shudder;  but  that  was  quickly  over  and 
destroyed  only  the  body.  "That  which  is  esteemed  among 
men  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord,"  surely  applies 
here. 

War  is  a  benevolent  and  attractive  method  of  destruc- 
tion beside  this.  Yet  some  try  to  justify  (  !)  the  Social 
Evil,  which  is  the  sin  against  motherhood,  and  probably 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  receptive  spirit;  of 
which  woman,  motherhood,  is  the  symbol.  A  thing 
which  in  its  results  is  as  disastrous  as  this  cannot  be 
justified.  It  is  "unpardonable"  (not  necessarily  unfor- 
givable). Men  pay  money,  and  women  who  need,  want, 
and  can  get  it  no  other  way  think  they  can  thereby  gain 
money,  attention,  power — even  love  the  poor  things  hope 
for  through  it. 

Tolstoi  sees  and  expresses  this.  He  says  these  un- 
fortunate women  (and  others  also)  think  this  all,  or  what 
men  want  of  women,  and  justify  themselves  as  valuable 
members  of  society.  What  wonder,  when  the  attitude 
of  man  is  considered!  ols  it  right  that  women  should  be 
forced  into  such  positions,  or  called  upon  to  bring  chil- 
dren into  the  world  through  suffering,  for  such  an  end? 

46 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Should  the  creative  act  ever  be  made  use  of  except  for 
creative  purposes?  When  used  otherwise,  is  it  not 
dangerous?  "Sensuality  palsies  the  right  hand  and  causes 
the  left  to  let  go  its  grasp  on  the  divine."  Mrs.  Eddy. 

The  Christ  character  shows  us  the  result  and  points 
to  the  knowledge  that  "pregnancy  (at  least)  should  have 
the  sanctity  of  virginity."  Ibid.  This  is  beginning  to 
be  more  generally  understood  and  observed.  Guatama 
Buddha  (a  remarkable  man  for  his  time,  about  600  B.  C, 
who  was  also  said  to  be  of  this  immaculate  or  pure  con- 
ception), after  reaching  the  age  of  responsibility,  went 
away,  leaving  a  wife  of  unusual  beauty  and  character, 
and  his  only  child.  Bjornson  discerns  this  truth  partially  : 
"Sigurd  Slembe"  leaves  the  beloved  of  his  heart,  going 
to  a  war  of  conscience.  But  has  he  thus  attained  any- 
thing more  than  a  pure  monasticism  ?  What  will  be  the 
latter  days  of  either?  Surely  there  is  no  profit  in  them. 
The  wife  in  Bjornson's  story  acquiesced,  but  the  impres- 
sion left  was  that  of  a  wasted  life,  nothing  ideal  attained 
in  either  case.  Self  control  for  men  is  the  only  solution, 
and  that  with  no  accompanying  sense  of  martyrdom. 

Some  persons  are  quick  to  apply  the  hypnotic  and  arbi- 
trary statement  that  for  a  man  and  woman  to  live  to- 
gether without  having  children  is  immoral ;  which  it  might 
be  to  those  making  the  statement  who  are  judging  others 
by  themselves ;  but  why  should  it  be — why  is  it  not  possi- 
ble to  live  a  pure  life  under  any  circumstances — it  is ;  and 
it  is  done,  with  good  and  justifiable  reasons,  and  often 
with  ideal  results  in  important  directions.  "Marriage  is 
honorable  in  all,  and  the  bed  undefiled."  I  suppose  there 
are  those  who  cannot  understand  that  situation,  but  that 
does  not  prove  it  wrong  or  impossible  by  any  means. 

47 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

"Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged."  Just  the  fact  of  hav- 
ing had  one  or  more  children  does  assume  so  called  im- 
moral acts  in  the  majority  of  cases,  as  all  know.  One 
gentle  and  sensitive  woman  soul  said  in  the  writer's  hear- 
ing with  a  shudder  of  horror,  " After  a  child  is  born  then 
everybody  knows  what  has  happened."  Tolstoi  records 
that  late  on  his  sister's  wedding  night  (which  was  spent 
in  the  paternal  home)  she  came  flying  down  the  stairs 
from  the  nuptial  chamber  in  terror,  and  "Not  for  worlds 
would  she  tell  what  he  wanted  of  her." 

One  noted  man  wastes  sympathy  on  people  who  have 
not  suffered  in  this  war;  they  should  have  children  to 
send  out  to  be  killed  or  maimed,  or  they  are  unworthy  of 
consideration.  He  was  recently  waked  up,  evidently,  to 
the  danger  of  generalization,  and  begins  to  hedge  his  posi- 
tion by  saying  'If  God  had  not  sent  them  any  or  only  one' 
then  he  'exonerates  them  in  their  sad  estate.'  But  why 
God  should  refuse  to  send  them  to  parents  who  desire 
them  and  who  would  take  good  care  of  and  bring  them 
up  well;  and  send  them  to  the  parents  of  those  poor 
abused  children  in  the  power  of  the  "huns"  of  all  nations, 
married  or  unmarried,  he  does  not  explain,  and  of  course 
there  is  no  reasonable  explanation  to  be  found.  For  such 
a  false  premise  and  process  there  is  no  solution. 

And  why  should  anyone  have  only  one,  or  few,  and 
what  becomes  of  the  individualities  of  the  potential  un- 
born children  ?  At  the  rate  of  one  thousand  a  day  Euro- 
pean cradles  are  said  to  have  been  robbed  during  the  war 
(and  after  for  many  years)  as  an  effect  of  deaths,  wounds 
and  hardships  wrought  to  both  potential  fathers  and 
mothers.  It  does  not  seem  possible  that  immortal  souls 
can  wait  on  chance,  caprice  or  lust  for  manifestation  or 

48 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

existence.  It  is  not  a  dignified  or  reasonable  supposition 
that  they  should;  and  if  human  manifestation  is  so  neces- 
sary and  valuable  what  becomes  of  these  potential 
individualities  who  are  not  humanly  conceived  and  brought 
forth;  or  who  are  untimely  cut  off  by  war,  accident  or 
disease.  This  (or  any)  war  both  fills  the  graves  and 
robs  the  cradles,  as  do  many  other  accepted  institutions. 
This  view  calls  for  consideration  at  least,  we  cannot  very 
well  ignore  it. 

Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams  in  their  corre- 
spondence quote  with  approval  the  "Principles  of  the 
Pythagoreans  concerning  the  laws  of  interprocreation  of 
men."  "It  shall  be  according  to  the  laws  of  modesty 
and  sanctity.  We  do  not  commix  for  the  sake  of  pleasure, 
but  for  the  procreation  of  children." 

Women  (and  men)  through  the  suffering  in  childbirth, 
which  is  becoming  too  great  to  be  borne,  inflicted  by 
any  other  plan ;  if  they  do  not  by  the  effect  on  the  off- 
spring, of  inherited  lust  and  disastrous  secret  vice,  must 
learn  to  control  circumstances.  Then  might  mother- 
hood be  considered  a  privilege,  which  it  can  scarcely  be 
while  it  is,  in  most  cases,  "an  enforced  burden."  Then 
we  may  look  forward,  as  did  Jewish  parents  of  old,  to 
the  Saviour  who  may  be  born  to  us.  I  have  no  doubt 
there  have  been  such  (and  now  are  being  born)  who 
are  to  be  allowed  to  help  save  and  uplift  the  race  in  kind 
if  not  in  degree.  Whatever  there  is  of  saving  grace  in 
anything,  makes  it  a  savior. 

Is  it  not  reasonable  that  motherhood  is  symbolic  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  (or  Spirit)  ?  This  may  sound  startling, 
until  we  are  accustomed  to  the  idea  and  look  it  squarely 
in  the  face.  They  are  alike,  in  that  both  are  considered 

49 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

and  acknowledged  the  highest,  though  about  us  we  may 
see  motherhood  so  dragged  in  the  lowest  that  we  scarcely 
recognize  in  it  anything  of  its  true  nature.  Goethe  speaks 
of  "Die  Mutter,  the  creative  and  generative  forces  of 
earth."  "As  in  everything  which  receives  new  life  on 
earth,  the  female  principle  is  most  in  evidence;  the 
august  title  of  'The  Mothers'  may  be  rightly  given  them." 
Science  teaches  that  the  female  principle  was  first,  and  is 
more  highly  organized. 

Was  it  not  this  sin  against  motherhood  of  which  our 
first  parents  were  guilty?  The  definition  of  "sin"  is  "to 
miss  the  mark"  (i.  e.,  to  make  a  mistake).  After  they 
had  eaten  of  the  fruit  of  the  "Tree  of  Knowledge"  which 
was  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  they  were  ashamed  and 
made  themselves  aprons  of  leaves,  thus  perhaps  indicat- 
ing the  nature  and  wrong  character  of  the  sin  (mistake) 
committed.  Why  were  they  ashamed  if  what  they  did 
was  right;  and  if  it  is  not  right,  if  it  is  a  mistake,  why 
continue  it?  Milton,  in  a  finite  way,  summed  up  Eve's 
reasoning : 

"So  to  add  what  wants 
In  female  sex,  the  more  to  draw  his  love 
And  render  me  more  equal,  and,  perhaps,  a 
Thing  not  undesirable,  sometime 
Superior;  for  inferior  who  is  free," 

It  is,  I  think,  the  reasoning  of  the  mortal  (or  man's) 
woman.  The  premises  are  surely  wrong,  and  drawn  from 
them  the  conclusions  are  incorrect.  Man  sees  it,  but  can- 
not reconcile  appearances,  nor  explain,  nor  believe;  and 
thus  blindly  men  and  women  are  at  cross  purposes,  instead 
of  pulling  together. 

50 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

A  doctor,  in  advising  young  wives,  tells  them  not  to  be 
"disturbed  if,  after  this,  their  husbands  turn  from  them 
in  depression  and  coldness ;  it  is  quite  natural,"  etc.  But 
does  it  not  indicate  something?  Consumption,  scrofula, 
and  kindred  ills  are  known  to  be  its  followers.  Must 
there  not  be  something  intrinsically  wrong  when  such  an 
effect  is  produced.  Tolstoi  and  Milton  both  give  clear 
instances  of  it,  plainly  told.  After  this  the  Adam  and 
Eve  of  Milton  (as  also  in  the  case  of  Paola  and  Francesca, 
who  were  all  justified  by  love  if  any  are  ever  justified, 
being  made  for  each  other)  are  despondent  and  quarrel- 
some. Gone  is  the  glory  of  love  and  the  delight  which 
was  theirs  before  the  fall  (love  was  killed,  slain).  Even 
we  speak  of  "fall-ing"  in  love.  Physicians  also  teach 
that  men  past  forty-five  should  guard  it  as  their  life. 
"If  this  power  which  is  dissipated  be  retained,  attrac- 
tion is  doubled."  Why,  if  the  so-called  natural  (material) 
conception  is  right,  should  another  kind  be  necessary  to 
an  immaculate  conception  (of  character)  as  if  distinc- 
tively. The  ideal  is  so  precious,  and  it  is  so  marred  by 
present  practice. 

St.  Paul  says :  "Flee  youthful  lusts,"  and  again,  "Flee 
fornication,  all  other  sins  which  a  man  commits  are  out- 
side himself,"  and  not  so  corroding. 

St.  Augustine  of  Hippo,  who  before  his  Saintship 
learned  certain  hard  lessons  in  the  school  of  experience, 
carries  the  idea  that  fornication  was  the  original  sin. 
Nietzsche  acknowledges  that  the  material  creative  gratifi- 
cation interferes  with  man's  higher  or  mental  creative 
work,  and  again  blames  woman,  seeing  her  as  a  temptation 
to  man ;  an  utterly  one-sided  and  unjust  conclusion.  Also 
the  Bible  tells  us  that  Jesus  knew  men ;  he  needed  not 

Si 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

that  any  should  tell  him  what  men  are."  "The  heart  is 
deceitful  and  desperately  wicked."  These  are  all  familiar 
statements  and  should  be  seriously  considered. 

A  wicked  and  adulterous  generation  is  spoken  of  in 
the  Bible.  Jesus  said,  "This  generation" — as  He  evidently 
did  not  mean  the  generation  then  living,  what  could  He 
have  meant  but  this  kind  of  generation? — "shall  not  pass 
away  until  all  be  fulfilled."  Did  not  the  vital  necessity 
for  it  pass  when  the  Christ  was  embodied?  But  it  will 
continue  till  all  be  fufilled,  and  that  will  be  perhaps 
ages  from  now.  Then  will  be  the  at-one-ment  with  the 
Father,  when  all  is  Spirit.  We  shall  then,  and  only  then, 
be  the  pure  in  heart,  who  are  at  one  with,  or  see,  God. 

"Which  were  born,  not  of  blood,  not  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 

"Made  not  after  the  power  of  carnal  commandment, 
but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life." 

The  poets*  have  given  us  Arthur,  Parsifal,  Galahad, 
"whose  strength  was  as  the  strength  of  ten."  Why? 
Because  his  heart  was  pure. 

"My  good  blade  carves  the  casques  of  men, 
My  tough  lance  thrusteth  sure, 
My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 
Because  my  heart  is  pure. 

How  sweet  are  looks  that  ladies  bend 
On  whom  their  favors  fall! 

*  The  meaning  of  the  word  poet  is  found  to  be  maker,  creator; 
and  a  poem  is  something  finished,  harmony.  Shelly's  definition, 
"All  who  display  higher  imagination,  the  higher  creative  sense,  as 
distinguished  from  the  (material  so  called)  logical  reason,  are 
poets,"  is  generally  accepted. 

52 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One 

For  them  I  battle  to  the  end, 
To  save  from  shame  and  thrall: 

But  all  my  heart  is  drawn  above, 

My  knees  are  bow'd  in  crypt  and  shrine; 

I  never  felt  the  kiss  of  love, 

Nor  maiden's  hand  in  mine. 

More  bounteous  aspects  on  me  beam, 

Me  mightier  transports  move  and  thrill; 

So  keep  I  fair  thro'  faith  and  prayer 

A  virgin's  heart  in  work  and  will. 

A  maiden  knight — to  me  is  given 

Such  hope,  I  know  not  fear; 


So  pass  I  hostel,  hall  and  grange; 
By  bridge  and  ford,  by  park  and 
All-arm' d  I  ride,  what'er  betide, 
Until  I  find  the  holy  Grail" 
(Or  until  I  find  the  Truth.) 


Percivale's  sister  "Who  gave  herself  to  prayer  and 
praise"  taught  Galahad  "First  to  see  this  holy  thing" 
(the  Truth  or  Grail). 


53 


CHAPTER  II 

THROUGH  legend,  elementary  truth  is  said  to  be 
handed  down  to  us.  In  Abbey's  famous  frieze  in 
the  Boston  Library,  Galahad  is  portrayed  as  having 
been  under  the  care  of  nuns  till  about  his  thirteenth  year, 
when  he  is  handed  over  to  Guernamez  for  instruction  in 
worldly  knowledge ;  after  which  he  starts  on  a  quest  for 
the  Holy  Grail,  the  blood  (or  life)  of  Jesus — (the  Christ 
or  Truth)  which  can  only  be  found  and  held  by  one  who 
is  pure.  The  Grail  (Truth)  when  found  (or  known) 
would  do  away  with  sickness  and  sorrow.*  It  has  been 
in  the  hands  of  Amfortas,  but  was  lost,  through  his 
wrong  defense  of  an  immoral  woman,  and  he  was  left 
with  a  wound  which  could  not  be  healed  until  the  Grail 
was  restored. 

Galahad  watches  his  armor  all  night  at  the  altar,  in 
prayer,  as  was  the  custom  of  those  starting  on  a  quest 
(keeping  the  thought  pure  all  night).  Sir  Percival  and 
Sir  Bors  may  fasten  on  his  spurs,  but  as  they  have  each 
"sinned"  once,  they  may  not  find  the  Grail.  Galahad 
next  finds  himself  at  Arthur's  court,  and  safely  occupies 
the  chair  in  which  to  be  seated  is  death  to  one  who  is 
impure.  Next,  followed  by  Arthur's  knights,  he  journeys 
to  the  castle  of  Amfortas,  where  he  finds  the  people  of 
this  court  sunken  in  a  deep  sleep  of  the  senses,  so  that, 
while  the  Truth  (Grail)  passes  through  their  midst  at 
intervals,  in  procession,  they  cannot  see  it. 

*Did  not  Jesus  say:  "Ye  shall  know  (or  find)  the  Truth  and 
the  Truth  shall  make  you  free."  A  matter  of  knowing — mental 
entirely.  St.  Paul  says :  "Prove  all  things,  hold  fast  to  that 
which  is  good." 

54 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Galahad  sees  it.  but  trusting  to  his  worldly  wisdom  to 
give  him  its  meaning,  he  does  not  ask  questions  as  he 
should,  and  so  loses  his  chance  for  the  Grail,  for  this 
time.  (A  warning  is  here  to  be  found.)*  He  then  rides 
on  and  encounters  the  three  loathly  damsels,  who  are 
doomed  to  entice  and  slay  men,  until  the  pure  man  comes, 
who  alone  can  rescue  them.  The  inference  being  that 
when  man  is  pure  the  world  will  be  redeemed.  Until 
then,  woman  is  condemned  against  her  will  to  accede  to 
man's  evil  desires.  But  Galahad  has,  for  the  time,  lost 
his  chance  to  free  them,  and  they  part  from  him  in  sorrow. 
Next  he  encounters  the  seven  deadly  sins,  symbolized 
by  fierce  men  in  armor,  who  are  guarding  the  imprisoned 
virtues,  typified  by  lovely,  gentle,  modest  women.  Galahad 
conquers  them  and  so  liberates  the  virtues.  Then  he 
goes  on  and  meets  Blanche  Fleur  (white  flower),  a  lovely 
representation,  pure,  ascetic.  Her  he  marries,  but  de- 
parts immediately  on  the  quest ;  thus,  by  absolute  chastity, 
he  proves  his  right  to  the  Grail,  which  he  receives,  heals 
Amfortas,  and  is  carried  in  a  boat  by  angels  to  Shiras. 
Here  he  is  seen,  a  throng  of  angels  in  the  background, 
and  at  last  his  earthly  robes  of  materiality  are  to  fall 
away. 

Wagner  personifies  woman  in  "Kundry,"  who  is  half 
the  time  doomed  to  tempt  and  drag  man  down,  but  spends 
the  other  half  of  her  time  in  good,  uplifting  work.  She, 
like  the  loathly  damsels  and  the  Virtues  in  Abbey's  con- 
ception of  the  quest,  can  only  be  freed  by  an  absolutely 
chaste  knight.  Klingsor  (typical  mortal  man)  calls 

*Moses  when  he  saw  the  burning  bush  turned  aside  to 
question,  instead  of  antagonizing,  an  unusual  thought  or  ap- 
pearance. Abraham  entertained  Angels  (unusual  ideas)  un- 
awares, and  received  a  blessing.  Darwin's  attitude  toward 
so-called  impossibilities  is  well  known. 

55 


Taking  ''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Kundry,  the  woman  of  his  (man's)  desire,  the  woman 
of  his  creation,  his  slave,  up  from  the  depths.  She  comes 
in  sackcloth,  bowed  and  weeping.  Klingsor  jeers  at  her 
and  commands  her  to  do  his  bidding:  to  lure  men  to 
their  destruction  by  sensuous  and  sensual  means.  This 
he  forces  her  to  do  (witness  its  extreme  in  white  slavery)  ; 
but  Parsifal,  higher  type  of  man,  is  strong  enough  to 
resist;  to  free  himself  and  her  also  from  her  enforced 
task.  Then  all  she  asks  or  ever  has  asked  is  "Service." 
Thus  the  "eternal  womanly,"  which  the  average  mortal 
man  has  never  once  seen,  is  brought  to  light.  Wagner 
builded  better  than  he  knew. 

Wagner  sees  that  Tannhauser  is  never  free  from  the 
Venus  or  sensual  lure,  while  Elizabeth  lives;  though 
neither  he  nor  she  is  conscious  that  she  is  at  all  connected 
with  it.  Many  advanced  writers  have  had  that  concep- 
tion ;  they  could  not  connect  any  such  idea  with  a  refined 
or  ideal  woman.  They  felt  the  desecration  of  it;  without 
seeing  the  solution — pure  and  ideal  manhood,  as  a  mate 
and  companion  for  the  ideal  woman  with  whom  only 
could  they  be  happy. 

Goethe's  experiences  were  likely  of  this  order.  He  was 
probably  a  pure  spirit,  though  after  years  of  material  life 
he  was  persuaded  that  he  was  someway  mistaken  and  he 
married  an  uneducated  woman  with  whom  he  had  had 
relations,  and  of  whom  he  spoke  as  "a  convenient  loaf  of 
Brown  Bread." 

Goethe,  who  sums  up  all  womanly  charm  and  beauty 
in  Helena,  puts  these  words  in  her  mouth  when  asked  to 
name  the  penalty  to  be  imposed  on  a  man  beneath  her 
in  station,  who  had  addressed  words  of  love  to  her : 

56 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

"The  evil  to  chastise  myself  have  caused 
Were  most  unmeet. 
Woe's  to  me,  what  ruthless  fate 
Pursues  me,  that  where'er  I  go  I  thus 
Befool  men's  senses,  so  they  not  respect 
Themselves,  nor  aught  that's  worthy! 
Now  by  force,  • 

Now  by  seducive  arts,  by  warfare  now, 
Now  dragging  me  about  from  land  to  land, 
Gods,  heroes,  demigods,  yea  demons  too, 
Have  made  my  life  one  wild  and  errant  maze. 
I  sowed  confusion  o'er  the  world;  it  grew, 
And  now  it  spreads,  confounded  worse  and  worse. 
Remove  this  worthy  man  and  set  him  free; 
Light  never  harm  on  him  the  gods  have  crazed."* 
We  are  beginning  to  realize  that  the  gods  have  nothing 
to   do  with  it.     Man's   self-indulgent   weakness   is  the 
cause.    Let  us  face  the  truth  and  not  forever  falsely  blame 
God  and  the  woman. 

By  extending  the  vision  we  see  that  when  man's  desires 
are  eliminated,  woman  will  be  free  to  be  herself  all  the 
time,  and  no  longer  a  sensual  slave,  which  is  abhorrent 
to  her  nature,  but  has  been  forced  upon  her  through  the 
desires  of  man  enforced  (custom  and  education  being 
factors)  ;  thus  we  may  "escape  the  corruption  which  (the 
Bible  says)  is  in  the  world  through  lust."  Ibsen's  "Peer 
Gynt"  is  saved  by  his  virtuous  wife  and  mother  (who 
hold  the  real  man  in  their  hearts),  though  he  deserts, 
neglects,  and  makes  them  suffer  while  he  is  off  following 
his  will,  which  would  have  lost  him  his  soul  except  for 
their  devotion.  There  are  those  who  affect  to  see  right 
*  See  page  29. 

57 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

conditions  in  this  state  of  affairs.  Why?  Because  it  is 
common,  not  reasonable;  reason  on  this  subject  is  out 
of  place ;  man  decides. 

Spenser's  Britomarte  (the  Maiden  Knight,  Chastity) 
could  pass  through  fire  unharmed;  an  indication.  This 
I  think  is  also  Tolstoi's  final ;  and  his  "  'Tis  only  when 
man  learns  to  look  on  woman  as  a  sister  woman,  even 
as  he  looks  on  man  as  a  brother  man,  can  he  see  aright," 
means,  I  take  it,  just  that,  and  sums  up  his  gospel.  Did 
not  the  Magdalene  of  the  Scriptures  turn  to  the  chaste 
and  pure  Christ  Jesus  for  salvation  (escape  from  bond- 
age) ?  Doubtless  he  saw  in  her  not  a  willing  sinner  but 
an  unfortunate;  and  was  she  not  the  first  to  see,  in  his 
compassion  and  purity,  the  risen  Saviour? 

The  Japanese  see  and  express  this  in  the  names  given 
their  so-called  fallen  women:  "Soiled  Dove,"  "Lotus 
in  the  Mud"  ;  showing  that  they  understand  the  awful  cir- 
cumstances of  a  pure  being  forced  into  such  an  abhorred 
state,  and  kept  in  constant  contact  with  it  until  freed 
by  death.  English  and  American  soldiers — who  are  sup- 
posed to  guard  and  protect — visit  these  torture  chambers 
and  have  no  mercy.  Men  can  scarcely  conceive  how 
horrible  this  is,  as  can  a  woman ;  but  they  should  under- 
stand and  stop  it,  as  they  alone  can  at  the  present  time. 
They  are  responsible  as  a  class.  Reliable  commissions 
report  that  all  of  the  "bad"  women  in  certain  large  cities 
(and  probably  in  all)  "are  driven  to  that  life  through 
wrong  conditions,  of  which  they  are  the  victims ;  and  are 
supporting  a  child  or  children  whose  father  has  deserted ; 
but  while  all  these  things  are  contributing  causes  man 
is  chiefly  responsible  for  their  fall."  Think  of  this  being 

58 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

callously  called  "the  oldest  profession  in  the  world" ;  and 
of  the  misery  and  wrong  ensuing,  with  woman  helpless 
and  in  subjection  all  the  time.  Even  now  she  is  working 
(at  a  disadvantage)  to  change  these  conditions.  Good 
men  and  women  are  helping  her  and  they  acknowledge 
that  the  women  lead  in  this  fundamental  work. 

Judge  Gemill  of  Chicago  is  quoted  as  saying,  from 
observation  in  domestic  courts :  "For  the  most  part  it 
seems  to  me  it  is  just  pure  cussedness  on  the  part  of  the 
men." 

The  Adam  spirit  would,  as  of  old,  wrongly  place  the 
blame  on  the  helpless  woman ;  we  even  hear  of  "defence- 
less Adams"  who  are  overcome  by  girls  who  are  mere 
children,  and  they  are  given  maudlin  sympathy  where 
they  should  be  made  to  see  themselves  for  what  they 
are — worse  than  cads.  This  point  must  be  insisted  on  as 
only  when  men  recognize  it  as  truth  will  conditions  be 
corrected,  as  they  should  be  for  the  good  of  all. 

In  the  morality  play,  Everywoman,  the  author  (a 
man)  thinks  he  sees  that  every  woman  sooner  or  later  is 
deserted  by  Modesty  (which  he  personifies,  as  he  does 
the  other  qualities  of  womaniety).  He  does  also  see  that 
Modesty  always  returns  in  time.  What  he  does  not  see 
is  that  woman  only  loses  modesty  in  appearance  and  on 
account  of  life  conditions,  and  not  in  reality — only  another 
presentation  of  this  same  truth. 

Rousseau  sees  that  Madame  W.  was  simply  unmoral, 
not  immoral,  as  she  only  conformed  to  custom  and  not 
through  desire.  He  said  he  had  observed  it  in  cats  and 
dogs,  but  saw  nothing  attractive  in  it;  and  he  said  he 
thought  two  people  must  know  each  other  very  well  to 

59 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

be  willing  to  sleep  together.  He  admits  that  he  shrank 
from  it,  and  I  think  it  will  ke  found  that  all  normal  young 
people,  boys  or  girls,  do  so  shrink,  and  are  only  led  on 
by  an  immoral  force  which  supposes  such  things  to  be 
right  and  normal ;  and  through  the  dread  of  being  thought 
abnormal,  unnatural,  or  ridiculous,  as  is  often  the  case 
in  commencing  to  steal  or  smoke.  Later  the  habit 
becomes  confirmed,  often  uncontrollable,  and  lives  are 
injured  or  absolutely  wrecked  through  it.  "Happy  season 
of  virtuous  youth/'  writes  Carlyle,  "when  shame  is  still 
an  impassable  celestial  barrier !" 

The  following  quotation  from  Ibsen  may  not  be  out  of 
place.  He  says :  "For  I  believe  this :  a  woman  is  the 
mightiest  power  in  the  world  and  in  her  hand  it  lies  to 
guide  a  man  whither  God  Almighty  would  have  him  go." 
Dante  was  led  in  his  ascent  to  Paradise  by  the  light  on  the 
face  of  Beatrice. 

The  word  Elohim  (feminine  root — masculine  plural) 
in  first  chapter  Genesis,  is  now  translated  Father-Mother 
or  Mother-Father,  indicating  the  tender  love  and  care  of 
that  relation.  In  this  first  and  true  account,  Elohim 
(the  word  is  used  only  in  the  plural)  is  said  to  have 
created  male  and  female  (generic  man)  in  his  image  and 
likeness.  Then  Elohim  must  be  Father-Mother.  Know- 
ing that  the  mother  principle  is  so  much  in  evidence  in 
physical  birth,  one  wonders  that  his  mistake  has  remained 
so  long  uncorrected.  Others  of  like  nature  are  being 
discovered.  The  text  that  has  heretofore  been  rendered : 
"The  Lord  giveth  the  word;  great  was  the  company  of 
them  that  published  it,"  is  plainly  seen  to  be:  "The 
Lord  giveth  the  word;  the  women  that  published  the 

60 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

tidings  are  a  great  host" — also  much  more  true  to  the 
real  state  of  affairs. 

In  corrected  translations  of  the  Bible  account  of  crea- 
tion it  is  seen  that  Eve  was  "thoroughly  deceived,  caught 
in  a  snare."  She  saw  her  mistake  and  acknowledged  it; 
Adam  did  not,  and  Eve  then  turned  away  from  God  to 
follow  her  husband,  and  became  subject  unto  him.  Had 
she  turned  to  God  as  her  intuition  would  have  led  her 
to  do,  he  (man)  would  have  come  to  her  on  a  higher 
plane.  He  will  yet  do  so  and  all  will  be  well.  All  the 
time,  as  we  know,  she  has  turned  to  God,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, and  not  let  go  of  man  entirely — witness  the  Pro- 
testant churches;  of  them  it  is  well  said  that,  but  for  the 
women  cobwebs  would  grow  over  their  doors.  Men 
give  to  the  churches  generally  at  the  instance  of  their 
wives ;  but  men  must  be  in  complete  authority,  for  if 
they  are  not,  they  will  not  have  anything  to  do  with  it. 
As  in  many  other  directions,  the  result  is  not  wholly 
satisfactory;  but  woman  has  yielded,  as  man  would  not 
play  at  all  if  she  did  not. 

When  we  understand  that  there  is  no  sex  in  mind,  we 
will  see  that  sex  is  but  an  artificial  distinction.* 

*The  French  language  has  no  neuter  gender,  while  the  German 
has  a  decided  scattering  of  them;  a  turnip  is  she,  a  young  lady 
is  it,  a  tree  is  male,  its  buds  female,  and  its  leaves  neuter ;  horses 
are  neuter,  all  dogs  male,  and  all  cats  and  mice  female;  woman 
is  female,  but  wife  is  not.  Our  use  of  gender  is  somewhat  arbi- 
trary, we  call  he  moon  and  a  ship  she,  the  sun  he,  and  a  Zeppelin 
it.  We  speak  of  mother  ships  and  tanks,  and  of  fathering  an  idea, 
and  so  on.  A  close  observer  notes  that  while  male  animal  pro- 
genitors are  never  (one  might  say)  referred  to  as  "father,"  female 
animals  are  called  "mother."  This  may  seem  to  be  a  small  matter, 
but  it  is  not.  If  the  word  father  is  sacred  to  humanity,  the  word 
mother  should  certainly  be  so.  Neither  should  the  words  denot- 

61 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Gender  is  masculine  and  feminine,  and  refers  to 
qualities.  There  is  also  a  neuter  gender  in  which  there  is 
evidently  no  sex,  only  another  quality.  When  this  is 
understood  by  our  savants,  who  know  all  things,  then  the 
wise  discussion  as  to  the  relative  value  of  brain  in  man  and 
woman  will  cease,  and  a  saving  in  time  be  accomplished. 
God  is  good  and  there  is  no  sex  in  good,  nor  do  men  have 
a  monopoly  of  good.  God  is  Love,  and  Love  is  thought 
to  be  feminine;  but  really  there  is  no  sex  either  in  love 
or  good,  only  principle.  Good  is  good  wherever  found. 
Sex  belongs  with  the  Adam,  dying,  physical,  mortal,  un- 
natural; not  with  the  Christ,  Truth,  spiritual,  natural. 

One  of  the  reasons  for  man's  fancied  superiority  is,  I 
suppose,  that  he  has  been  said  to  be  made  in  God's  image 
and  likeness,  and — God  is  always  spoken  of  as  Father. 
Also  see  page  6p.  That  this  is  a  man's  view  is  evident ; 
let  us  look  into  it,  in  the  light  of  higher  criticism.  God 
is  good,  and  good  is  both  male  and  female.  It  is  not 
wholly  confined  to  the  male  sex :  it  is  generally  supposed 
that  there  are  a  few  good  women.  And  if,  as  stated 
earlier,  we  have  any  doubt  we  have  only  to  step  into  a 
church  where  God  (good)  is  supposed  to  be  especially 
worshiped  and  emulated,  and  we  see  a  great  majority  of 
women.  In  case  we  are  not  yet  convinced  we  may  go  to 
a  penitentiary  and  find  there  among  the  criminals  only 
about  two  per  cent  of  women.  To  the  mind  incapable 
of  forming  correct  conclusions  this  carries  no  convic- 

ing  the  offspring  be  used  interchangeably.  Women  have  not  so 
close  affinity  for  animals  as  have  men,  but  man —  "Adam" — has 
the  naming  or  calling  of  mortal  creations ;  and  he  does  not 
always  consider  the  other  or  feminine  part  of  creation  as  he 
should.  A  protest  must  be  registered  before  it  can  become  effec- 
tive. 

62 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

tion,  because  we  have  always  been  told  that  woman  was 
inferior.  Why  trouble  about  anything  further?  Mere 
statement  is  quite  sufficient  in  any  case  where  woman  is 
concerned. 

Again  we  refer  to  the  popular  statement,  "Love  is  of 
man's  life  a  thing  apart,  'tis  woman's  whole  existence" ; 
does  this  prove  that  woman  is  limited  and  inferior?  We 
have  had  a  good  illustration  of  this  kind  of  reasoning 
in  the  attitude  of  the  Filipino  soldiers,  for  instance, 
toward  our  forbearance  and  kindly  feeling;  because  they 
could  not  appreciate  it  they  at  once  regarded  it  as  weak- 
ness and  cowardice.  Surely  it  is  the  feminine  attitude, 
but  is  it  weakness  or  cowardice  ?  Is  it  not  rather  evidence 
of  strength  and  courage  (reversal  of  sense  testimony 
again)  ?  Did  we  think  so  in  the  case  spoken  of,  and  was 
it  not  somewhat  trying  to  the  patience  of  our  soldiers  to 
be  so  judged?  That  fact  that  such  a  spirit  is  in  our  men 
to  be  manifested  in  mercy  and  reason — is  it  not  because 
in  our  country  the  feminine  thought  (which  is  often 
expressed  through  masculine  form  and  vice  versa,  thus 
approaching  the  ideal)  is  partially  emancipated  and  is 
having  its  effect?  This  comes  partly,  through  the  teach- 
ing in  our  schools,  of  women,  which  is  so  deplored  by 
our  dense  German  friends  and  others. 

Galahad,  as  will  be  remembered,  was  in  the  care  of 
Nuns  (good,  modestly  dressed  women)  until  his  four- 
teenth year;  his  life  later,  in  the  world,  did  not  undo 
their  work,  it  only  delayed  the  climax.  The  influence  of 
the  first  seven  years  of  human  life  is  said  to  be  the  most 
lasting  and  that  is  usually  passed  under  woman's  care 
— a  good  foundation  for  ultimate  spiritual  progress. 

63 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

Mothers  teach  their  children  morality  in  the  home 
world ;  and  when  these  children  get  out  into  the  world 
of  'men,  or  man's  world,  they  find  their  mothers  dis- 
franchised and  discredited,  and  much  of  their  work  is 
in  vain.  Does  not  the  unregenerate  man  need  an  object 
lesson  on  the  dignity  of  womanhood,  at  present,  which 
the  ballot  would  give,  and  which  would  break  the  mes- 
meric spell  under  which  all  too  many  people,  both  men 
and  women,  have  fallen  as  to  woman's  place,  its  extent 
and  manifestation. 

Many  will  remember  that  the  "Moseley  Commission" 
which  was  sent  over  here  for  purposes  of  investigation,  a 
few  years  ago,  gravely  announced  as  one  of  its  findings, 
that  our  young  men  were  lacking  in  virility  and  had  be- 
come effeminate  through  the  influence  and  teaching  of 
women*  in  our  schools,  and  otherwise;  (a  truly  Hun- 
nish  conclusion).  And  now  when  our  boys  are  proving 
these  findings  of  the  Moseley  Commission  to  be  crimi- 
nally false,  no  inference  is  publicly  drawn  as  to  the  op- 
posite good  effect,  which  is  surely  evident  enough.  It  is 
so  fatally  easy  to  make  profound  deductions  from  false 
premises  (when  no  proof  is  demanded)  to  get  credit 
and  applause  for  them ;  and  later  when  they  are  proven 
untrue  it  is  so  very  convenient  to  forget  them.  Really 
it  is  pitiful. 

It  looks  as  if  the  children  from  now  on  would  be  left 
more  to  the  care  of  women ;  the  men  are  being  taken  out 
of  the  way  by  forces  now  beyond  their  control,  but  which 

*  All  intelligent  persons  will  agree  that  the  "Dotheboys 
methods"  used  in  schools  for  boys  in  the  past,  when  women 
had  no  influence  at  all,  were  simply  fiendish;  could  not  have 
been  worse,  and  were  greatly  in  need  of  improvement. 

64 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

they  have  set  in  motion  through  their  injustice  to  and 
domination  of  women.  Through  the  resultant  change  I 
think  the  future  looks  more  hopeful.  We  certainly  need 
a  ray  of  light  now  and  then  to  temper  the  gloom  of 
present  day  conditions,  when  there  seems  to  be  little 
consistency  of  thought  even  among  so  called  leaders. 

And  now  to  return  to  our  first  proposition — God  is 
good  and  God  is  Love — impersonal.  It  is  the  personal 
idea  that  has  been  our  stumbling  block;  we  must  get 
away  from  it  to  the  impersonal  savior — the  Truth — if  we 
would  be  freed,  saved  from  error.  Instead  of  a  manlike 
God,  let  us  find  the  Godlike  man  and  woman.  Our 
awakened  thought  in  regard  to  the  vexed  question  which 
presents  itself  under  the  name  of  Woman's  Rights,  we 
can  well  understand  as  not  being  entirely  a  question  of 
rights  but  of  expediency;  a  war  measure  in  our  battle 
against  universal  slavery  to  the  senses.  Let  all  Israel  of 
the  Spirit  come  up  out  of  worse  than  Egyptian  bondage. 

Certain  "philosophers"  teach  that  the  true  marriage 
is  based  on  sex;  when  sex  is  merely  an  incident,  as  any 
thoughtful  person  will  admit.  The  attempt  to  base  it 
otherwise  would  make  it  depend  on  and  end  at  the  death 
of  the  body,  and  is  responsible  for  the  present  divorce 
situation,  with  all  its  evil  consequences.  It  is  expressed 
in  Douglas  Jerrold's  epigram,  "A  man  who  has  a  wife 
at  forty  wishes  he  could  change  her  for  two  twenties" — 
presumably  a  man  at  sixty  or  at  eighty — draw  your  own 
parallel.  From  certain  appearances  one  might  think  that 
it  is  not  far  from  the  hypnotic  state  indicated.*  In  this 
line  the  sisters  are  fighting  a  losing  battle,  even  if  car- 
ried on  indefinitely.  Scripture  says  there  is  no  marry- 
ing in  Heaven,  and  it  does  not  specialize  as  to  cere- 

*  Appendix  J. 

65 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

monial,  simply  uses  the  word  marriage.  Read  the 
whole  statement  given.  Matthew  XXII,  30 — and  Luke 
XX,  34-36. 

As  our  ideas  seem  to  be  colored  largely,  if  uncon- 
sciously, by  Scripture  teaching,  let  us  see  if  we  can  find 
out  what  it  really  does  teach.  Why  may  we  not  be  con- 
tent with  the  account  given  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis,  which  leaves  things  in  very  satisfactory  shape  ? 
Male  and  female  created  He  them  and  told  them  to 
have  dominion.  According  to  this  account  God — Spirit 
— created  everything;  called  it  good  (spiritual)  and 
finished.  That  which  is  created  by  Spirit  is  spiritual ; 
and  here  we  have  a  good,  satisfactory  starting  point 
from  the  highest;  why  not  rest  content?  All  is  fin- 
ished ;  no  evil  has  appeared,  nothing  to  be  forbidden. 

The  next  and  contradictory  account  (second  chapter) 
is  unreasonable  enough  surely:  man  is  "formed"  from 
the  dust  of  the  ground,  the  lowest,  most  material;  then 
a  mist  went  up,  etc.  A  deep  sleep  fell  on  Adam  and 
he  dreamed  a  dream — a  man's  dream — from  which  he 
has  never  awakened;  the  poets  all  tell  us  this.  Words- 
worth's "Immortality"  begins :  "This  life  is  but  a  sleep 
and  a  forgetting" ;  one  could  quote  indefinitely.  In  this 
sleep  the  "Lord"  God  is  said  to  have  formed  from  Adam 
a  helpmeet  for  him ;  but  a  helpmeet  is  one  who  helps,  not 
one  who  hinders.  Did  God  make  a  mistake,  or  is  it 
possible  that  man  did?  Into  this  dream,  evil  enters 
and  tempts  these  dust- formed  creatures ;  then  Eve  formed 
from  Adam  is  said  to  be  worse  than  Adam  formed  from 
dust.  Is  her  origin  more  impure  than  his?  Really,  I 
suppose  Eve  told  the  truth  when  she  said  that  impersonal 
evil  (d'evil)  was  the  tempter;  it  was,  but  Adam  wanted 

66 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

something  more  tangible  to  blame ;  so  to  make  his  action 
appear  more  excusable,  he  said :  "The  woman  whom  Thou 
gavest  me"  (both  God  and  the  woman  to  blame)  ;  and 
so  it  has  gone  on,  man  blaming,  woman  forced  meekly  to 
accept,  trying  to  help  work  out  salvation  for  both,  under 
severe  handicap. 

Jesus  referring  to  the  Devil  says :  "When  he  speaketh 
a  lie  he  speaketh  of  his  own,  for  he  is  a  liar  and  the 
father  of  it."  (Also  see  page  64.)  We  might  from  this 
judge  the  devil  to  be  masculine,  and  the  lie  neutral  or 
impersonal.  Then  it  follows  that  the  tempter  was  the 
masculine  quality  and  the  successful  result  reacted  on 
man  in  the  human  misconception  of  the  divine  ideal. 
Knowing  that  he  has  done  wrong,  and  of  course  influenced 
and  biased  by  that  fact,  did  he  add  one  wrong  to  another 
by  evading  the  blame  in  attempting  to  right  himself  with 
God;  a  measure  often  resorted  to.  That  two  wrongs 
never  make  a  right  is  the  lesson  which  mankind  must 
learn ;  as  it  is  true. 

If  Adam  was  created  first  he  was  not  brought  forth 
from  a  human,  material  egg.  Eve  was  taken  from  Adam's 
side,  not  from  an  ovum.  Whatever  idea  may  be  put  forth 
in  a  general  way  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  human  beings 
will  become  a  fact  to  mortals.  Able  naturalists  say:  "We 
have  no  right  to  assume  that  individuals  have  grown  or 
been  formed  under  circumstances  which  made  material 
conditions  essential  to  their  maintenance  and  reproduc- 
tion, or  important  to  their  origin  and  first  introduction." 

"It  is  very  possible  that  many  general  statements  now 
current,  about  birth  and  generation,  will  be  changed  with 
the  progress  of  information."  "Certain  animals,  beside 

67 


Taking  ''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

the  ordinary  process  of  generation,  also  increase  their 
numbers  naturally  and  constantly  by  self-division." 

The  consensus  of  learned  opinion  now  is  that  life 
begins  in  the  egg.  But  the  old  question  of  what  produced 
the  egg  will  still  present  itself  in  the  mind  of  the  intelli- 
gent being.  So-called  mortal  life  must  begin  as  it  ends, 
in  nothingness — dust  to  dust.  How  can  there  be  mortal 
(or  dying)  life;  how  can  life  die?  It  takes  much 
credulity  to  believe  that  all  the  characteristics  of  man 
can  be  found  in  the  simple  elements  forming  an  egg. 
We  should  consider  these  things.  Sleep  has  dreams  and 
illusions  and  Adam's  sleep  is  like  that  of  others.  Study 
Genesis  I  if  you  wish  to  get  a  satisfactory  starting  point ; 
everything  good,  no  evil  at  all,  and  consider  that  the 
second  chapter  is  manifestly  a  contradiction  of  the  first. 
It  is  an  account  of  a  mortal  dream  which  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  reality ;  it  is  not  good  but  is  the  contradiction 
of  good.  Hegel  and  other  noted  philosophers  have  long 
ago  taken  a  logical  stand  that  there  must  be  and  is  ulti- 
mate good  which  knows  no  evil,  or  it  would  not  be  good ; 
how  could  it  be?  Use  your  logic. 

We  can  easily  see  that  good  only  is  creative  and 
perpetuates  itself — evil  destroys  itself. 

A  strange  thought  that  the  only  thoroughly  well  known 
part  of  the  Bible  is  this  whole  Adam  story,  temptation  and 
fall.  Eve  formed  from  Adam's  rib,  and  so,  inferior. 
Thy  desire  shall  be,  and  he  shall  rule.  Increase  and 
multiply  (said  to  be  the  only  command  man  has  kept). 
Every  one  old  enough  to  think  seems  some  way  able  to 
grasp  and  believe  this  to  the  exclusion,  often,  of  all  the  rest 
of  the  Bible.  You  will  not  find  many  men  who  do  not 
know  somewhat  the  story  of  Solomon's  600  female 

68 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

slaves;  of  David's  fall;  of  Lot;  of  Joseph;  and  of 
Pharaoh's  daughter;  many  putting  on  them  the  lowest 
construction,  learning  nothing  good.  Even  the  Queen 
of  Sheba  could  not  escape  these  insinuations.*  Why 
should  this  phase  appeal  to  mortal  man  more  than  all 
the  lovely  ethical  truths  in  the  Bible? 

The  Hebrew  scripture  contains  such  a  marvelous  ex- 
position of  life.  Its  types,  symbols,  and  experiences  are 
so  human ;  part  given  for  precept  and  part  for  warning. 
It  almost  makes  one  impatient  to  hear  those  who  do  not 
know  attempt  to  belittle  it. 

The  facts  which  we  have  found  hard  to  reconcile  with 
reason  are  tremendous  verities ;  we  may  as  well  accept 
them  as  such,  for  they  remain;  it  is  for  us  to  adjust  our- 
selves to  them  or  be  the  losers.  They  would  not  have 
been  so  persistently  handed  down  to  us  for  nothing.  I 
am  sure  we  are  all  glad  to  feel  that  we  need  not  to  discard 
the  faith  of  our  fathers;  but  may  safely  build  on  the 
foundations  which  they  have  laid. 

What  I  have  said  in  regard  to  all  this,  I  believe,  strikes 
a  responsive  chord  in  every  womanly  heart.  Only  those 
who  are  still  in  fear,  and  feel  that  they  must  flatter  and 
please  men,  or,  from  force  of  habit,  say  otherwise.  If 
woman  stops  to  reflect  she  will  acknowledge  that  this 
is  true,  to  her  own  surprise  perhaps,  so  little  has  she 
been  accustomed  to  think  in  this  direction;  for  the  sake 
of  semi-peace,  she  has  accepted  what  has  been  forced 

*Do  you  know  why  St.  Simon  Stylites  remained  on  the  pillar 
top  (a  few  feet  square)  in  the  market  place  of  Palermo?  It 
was  to  prove  to  all  that  he  was  chaste.  But  even  though  he 
stayed  there  night  and  day  for  many  years,  drawing  his  food 
up  in  a  basket,  he  still  could  not  escape  malicious  insinuations, 
which  are  so  trying  to  a  pure-minded  person. 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

upon  her  by  others,  as  her  own  thought.  All  doubt  of 
this  would  be  removed  could  she  be  brought  to  see  that, 
through  her  enforced  sacrifice,  men  themselves,  and  so 
the  race,  are  being  injured  instead  of  benefited;  as  she 
had  so  vainly  imagined,  and  accepted  in  the  spirit  of  duty, 
necessity,  and  sacrifice.  When  will  we  cease  to  depend 
on  the  evidence  of  the  senses? 

Suffering  seems  necessary  to  bring  us  to  think  of 
spiritual  things.  If  we  are  passably  well,  the  body  and 
material  things  seem  sufficient;  we  are  satisfied.  Tis 
only  when  suffering  comes  that  we  look  for  spiritual  (the 
only)  comfort.  When  we  understand  that  the  harmoni- 
ous, spiritual,  immortal,  undying,  is  the  real  and  natural, 
and  not  the  animal,  suffering,  inharmonious,  mortal, 
dying — physical — which  is  unnatural  and  material — the 
need  for  suffering  may  have  passed  and  it  will  be  no 
more.  This  understanding  does  not,  for  some  reason, 
come  without  effort;  we  must  struggle  until  certain 
principles  are  learned,  after  which  as  in  the  other  lessons 
of  life  everything  comes  easily.  As  mortals  "we  fall  to 
rise,  are  baffled  to  fight  better."  It  is  said  that  when  one 
begins  to  realize  the  unreality  of  material  things,  and 
their  lack  of  power  to  satisfy,  then  only  do  they  begin 
to  live.  The  road  for  a  little  way  is  apt  to  be  dangerous, 
but  if  they  are  in  the  right  path,  they  soon  come  out  on 
solid  ground  and  in  a  new  country.  El  D'Orado. 

Often  some  noted  person  is  quoted  as  saying  with 
finality:  "Life  is  only  a  preparation  for  death/'  or 
"Death  is  as  natural  and  inevitable  as  birth";  and  this 
is  applauded  as  wise  wisdom.  Now,  we  all  ought  to,  and 
do  know  that  death  at  least  is  unnatural ;  and  we  try  to 
evade  it  as  long  as  possible  by  every  means  in  our  power. 

70 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Why  death  is  the  "wages  of  sin"  (i.  e.,  the  result  of 
mistakes).  We  put  criminals  to  death  as  the  extreme 
punishment.  We  should  all  be  beyond  applauding  such 
unnatural  and  untrue  statements. 

We  become  enthusiastic  over  the  old  and  exploded 
idea  that  we  must  provide  healthy  bodies  before  we  can 
have  healthy  minds,  putting  the  cart  before  the  horse; 
so  it  works  poorly. or  not  at  all.  The  human  body  is 
found  to  be  eighty-five  per  cent  water  and  fifteen  per 
cent  organic  salts;  the  foods  which  sustain  it,  and  all 
material  things,  are  of  the  same  elements  in  slightly 
differing  proportions.  What  is  there  to  be  healthy,  un- 
healthy, or  indigestible?  We  all  know,  if  we  stop  to 
think,  that  mind  is  the  law  giver;  and  if  it  is  healthy  it 
manifests  in  a  healthy  body,  as  everything  is  a  manifesta- 
tion of  mind.  Also  we  know  that  when  our  earth  was 
considered  the  center  of  the  universe,  there  were  many 
discrepancies  which  had  to  be  overlooked  or  accounted 
for  in  some  way ;  but  when  the  sun  was  reckoned  as  the 
center,  all  was  seen  to  be  harmonious,  as  it  had  been  all 
the  time;  our  mistaken  belief  did  not  in  any  way  affect 
the  reality,  the  Truth,  in  one  case  more  than  the  other. 

As  a  drop  of  water  is  one  with  the  ocean,  having  all 
the  qualities  of  the  ocean,  and  no  other  qualities ;  as  the 
ray  of  light  is  one  with  and  has  all  the  qualities  of  the  sun ; 
as  tones  are  one  with  music,  having  the  same  qualities ; 
as  numbers  are  one  with  the  principle  of  mathematics, 
useless  each  without  the  other,  coming  into  existence  at 
the  same  time,  always  individual  but  varied;  so  man  is 
one  with  Good  (God),  Mind,  Life,  Truth,  Love,  having 
all  the  qualities  of  Good,  of  Mind,  of  Life,  of  Truth,  of 
Love,  and  no  other  qualities.  We  have  written  figures, 

7i 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

numbers,  and  principle  of  mathematics,  sound  or  tones, 
music,  and  its  principle;  body  ego,  and  principle,  God 
(good).  Now  erase  the  figures,  silence  the  tones,  return 
the  body  to  dust,  yet  music,  numbers,  ego,  still  survive, 
each  in  constant  relation  to  its  principle.  The  ego  is 
like  the  tone  or  number,  perfect — nothing  can  be  added 
to  it  and  nothing  taken  away  without  losing  its  relation 
to  the  principle,  and  then  what  is  it  but  a  mistake,  a  dis- 
cord? Nothing.  You  did  not  originate  health,  strength, 
or  wealth,  nor  did  I;  we  cannot  therefore  lose  health, 
strength,  or  wealth,  or  any  good  thing  (a  calamity  it 
would  be  if  we  could)  ;  they  are  not  ours  to  lose  any  more 
than  the  fact  that  twice  two  equals  four,  is  our  personal 
property;  we  can  use  them  all  and  all  are  inexhaustible 
because  all  are  mental  and  not  material.  The  stirring 
words :  "Your  Flag  and  my  Flag"  refer  to  the  one  Flag, 
the  Flag  of  Our  Country ;  and  moreover  that  Flag  stands 
for  an  ideal  of  liberty  and  protection  for  each  one  of  us ; 
not  for  a  lot  of  little  flags  for  individuals,  which  would 
be  helpless  alone ;  yet  each  one  has  its  meaning  and  value 
to  each  individual  as  a  part  of,  or  one  with,  the  Union. 
Life  is  not  an  eating  or  a  breathing  process :  life  is  a 
knowing  process. 


CHAPTER  III 

"So  dear  to  heav'n  is  saintly  chastity 
That  when  a  soul  is  found  sincerely  so 
A  thousand  livened  angels  lackey  her." 

TOLSTOI  says,  "All  any  pure  young  girl  wants  is 
children,"  and  many,  many  women  say  in  their 
hearts  (though  they  hardly  dare  to  think  it,  so  long 
and  patiently  have  they  borne  the  yoke,  either  from 
the  thought  of  stern  duty  or  from  force  of  example  and 
seeming  necessity),  "Life  would  be  a  paradise  were  this 
left  out,  except  where  children  are  really  desired."  And 
so  it  would  be.  There  is  so  much  that  is  delightful  in  the 
relations  of  man  and  woman  which  is  ruined  by  this  thing. 
The  pity  of  it !  We  must  see  that  it  is  not  necessary  now, 
when  so  many  ways  of  thwarting  nature  are  devised  and 
used.  The  result  is  being  practically  done  away  with,  and 
only  the  dissipation  part  is  left.  To  read  the  advertise- 
ments promising  relief  ( !)  from  "consequences"  in  the 
personal  columns  of  some  papers,  must  open  the  eyes 
of  thoughtful  persons  to  what  is  going  on.  There  is  no 
permanent  relief.  The  woman  always  suffers,  desperately 
and  frightfully,  sooner  or  later ;  and  through  her  humanity 
suffers  beyond  computation,  if  mechanical  means  are  used. 
Is  it  not  time  for  us  to  open  our  eyes  and  ears  to  the 
truth,  and  act  on  our  knowledge  as  to  what  is  right  for 
humanity?  We  must  be  content  to  "let  the  dead  past 
bury  its  dead,"  without  hard  feeling.  But,  in  the  present 
time,  can  we  see  no  other  way,  but  that  woman  must 
be  tortured,  for  she  is  that,  with  fear  and  dread  alone 
even  at  the  possibility,  though  she  tries  to  throw  it  off? 

73 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

A  strange  thing  to  read,  in  a  story  written  by  a  noted 
author,  with*  all  men  characters.  They  are  discussing 
characteristics,  especially  the  fear  of  death,  which  in  the 
case  in  point  is  spoken  of  as  being  from  prenatal  influence. 
One  man  is  moved  to  remark:  "Jove,  I  don't  see  how 
women  stand  it!  To  look  forward  nearly  a  whole  year 
to  death  as  the  possible  end  of  all  they're  hoping  for  or 
suffering  for.  I  wonder  we  are  not  all  marked."  The 
American  man  is  certainly  getting  a  new  viewpoint.  Not 
only  a  year,  but  the  better  part  of  a  woman's  life  is  spent 
thus — aside  from  the  ordinary  fear  of  death,  which  we  all 
subconsciously  must  have,  being  apparently  doomed  to 
death  as  soon  as  we  are  born.  Let  us  look  at  this  squarely 
for  once.  What  must  be  the  natural  result  ? 

After  the  fall  Adam's  first  statement  is  found  to  be,  "I 
was  afraid" ;  but  we  know  that  "Perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear."  Lust  and  fear  are  companions;  they  must  and 
will  go  out  together  before  we  can  know  perfect  love, 
and  the  confidence  which  is  its  companion.  Jesus  said: 
Unless  ye  are  converted  and  become  as  a  little  child  ye 
cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven ;  we  know  he  could 
not  have  referred  to  little  physical  child  bodies,  also  he 
said :  "Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  What  are  these  characteris- 
tics, then,  which  it  is  so  important  to  possess?  Not 
alone  trust,  faith,  but  scientific  innocence  which  knows 
no  wrong;  purity  without  taint.  Children  know  no  sex; 
one  little  fellow,  on  being  told  that  he  had  a  sister,  said, 
"Can't  we  put  pants  on  it  and  have  it  for  a  boy  ?"  Another 
said  hopefully  of  a  little  brother,  "They  think  it  is  a  boy 
now,  but  its  hair  has  commenced  to  grow  and  I  think  it 
will  turn  out  to  be  a  girl."  Children  neither  marry  nor 

74 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

(in  Christian  countries)  are  they  given  in  marriage.  In 
mother  love,  acknowledged  to  be  the  highest  and  purest 
love,  there  is  never  a  question  of  sex;  neither  is  there 
in  sister  love ;  too  often  is  it  recorded  of  human  father  and 
brother  love.  We  learn  with  horror  why  the  lovely 
Beatrice  Cenci  is  called  the  "fair  parricide";  she  was 
not  the  only  victim  of  her  kind,  as  even  today's  papers 
bear  witness.  Thirty  per  cent  of  assault  cases  in  England 
are  of  this  class.  (That  the  laws  of  England  exploiting 
women  and  children  are  so  vicious  and  ill  enforced  is  the 
sufficient  reason  for  militancy  in  that  country.)  The 
English  government  has  had  to  make  a  law  in  India  for 
the  Hindoos,  that  no  man  over  forty  may  marry  a  child 
under  eight.  This  means  that  men  under  forty  can  and 
do  marry  children  under  eight.  They  are  brought  to  the 
missionary  hospitals  physical  wrecks  at  two  years  of 
age — isn't  it  ghastly  and  worse  than  beastly  ?  They  marry 
children  under  twelve  because  "they  cannot  conceive"  ; 
see  Missionary  Text  Book  for  Class  Study.  A  man  of 
any  age  or  condition,  leprous  or  maimed,  may  marry  any 
poor  child,  especially  a  little  widow,  if  he  has  money. 
One  is  ashamed  to  narrate  this,  but  it  must  be  uncovered 
and  stopped.  It  is  terrible  to  face  these  facts ;  then  what 
must  it  mean  to  those  who  endure  and  indulge  in  the  con- 
ditions— something  should  be  done  about  it.  We  know 
that  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  uncover  and  bring  it  out 
from  hiding  and  skulking,  and  then  we  have  a  better 
opportunity  to  scotch  the  snake. 

A  physician  of  much  experience  reluctantly  but  freely 
acknowledges  that  nine-tenths  or  more  of  the  children 
born  are  accidents,  and  not  welcome  at  the  time;  and 
accounts  for  it  in  these  words:  "Women  have  been  so 

75 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

imposed  on  in  the  past  that  they  have  grown  to  hate  and 
despise  the  whole  thing,  and  their  daughters  inherit  from 
them."  Statements  like  this  and  others  heard  from 
divorce  courts,  hospital  patients,  and  matrons  go  to  prove 
that  all  is  not  what  it  seems  or  as  it  should  be.  This  is 
known  to  be  true — why  try  to  deceive  ourselves?  Only 
by  reasoning  together  frankly  and  facing  truth  squarely 
can  we  arrive  at  a  correct  solution.  Can  we  see  no  way 
to  ease  "the  burden  which  no  one  should  ever  have  been 
asked  to  bear"  and  which  is  becoming  too  heavy  to  be 
endured  ?  Can  they  not  ask  for  a  little  or  much  self  control 
on  the  part  of  men,  after  all  that  has  passed,  without 
being  thought  unnatural,  or  to  be  shirking  duty?  One 
must  rise  to  righteous  indignation  that  it  is  necessary  to 
ask  the  question — to  beg  for  mercy,  as  it  were,  at  the 
hands  of  those  sworn  to  love  and  protect.  Save  us  from 
the  love  which  manifests  itself  in  torturing  and  injuring 
both  parties.  "A  beast  that  wants  discourse  of  reason" 
does  better.  "The  pain  and  peril  of  childbirth"  is  not 
of  modern  origin  by  any  means,  but  has  been  for  all 
time,  since  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  con- 
trary; there  are  records  to  prove  this  if  any  one  doubts. 
Doubtless  it  will  be  hard,  but  may  not  man  need  to 
learn  the  meaning  of  the  word  sacrifice,  as  well  as  woman  ? 
The  attitude  of  the  average  man  in  this  case  appears  much 
like  A.  Ward's  willingness  to  "sacrifice  his  wife's  rela- 
tions." It  is  so  easy  to  sacrifice  some  one  else.  Some 
one  has  wrongly  said:  "This  woman's  flesh  demands 
its  natural  pains."  Be  sure  this  is  a  man's  idea.  Woman's 
flesh  does  not  demand  anything  of  the  kind  more  than 
man's.  She  gets  her  so-called  natural  pains  (so,  alas, 
does  man),  and  it  is  not  necessary  for  her  happiness  or 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

well  being  to  add  unnatural  pains,  as  is  done  by  the  present 
method.  An  unusually  sensible  and  lovely  mother  seemed 
to  think  the  problem  well  solved  when  her  son  told  her 
he  was  making  every  effort  to  keep  from  this  until  he 
was  married.  There  was  no  thought  of  exhaustion  for 
both,  or  what  the  wife  might  then  undergo ;  that  part  is 
taken  for  granted — but  is  it  right  or  fair — why  not  teach 
that  absolute  self  control  is  the  highest  state?  [Read 
understandingly  Tolstoi's  "Kreutzer  Sonata."]  It  has 
been  said :  "the  caresses  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  a  woman 
have  only  one  ending  in  the  thought  of  man,  and  that  apt 
to  be  disastrous." 

We  so  often  hear  it  said  in  a  slurring  way  that  woman 
has  no  sense  of  humor,  as  if  it  were  a  lack,  and  her  fault. 
What  wonder,  if  it  is  purely  masculine  humor,  and  when 
she  has  imposed  upon  her,  over  and  above  the  ills  to  which 
all  flesh  is  heir,  an  added  burden  which  in  itself  is 
enough — too  much — for  human  nature  to  endure ! 

The  responsibility  is  laid  on  her  shoulders,  to  do  or 
not  to  do.  Either  way,  she  has  been  blamed,  and  her 
conscience,  if  she  has  one,  is  on  the  rack  most  of  the 
time.  The  nervous  and  mental  strain  is  intense.  This 
is  hardly  understood.  The  responsibility  should  be  lifted 
from  her  shoulders  and  placed  where  it  belongs.  Of 
course,  this  involves  a  conscientious  desire  to  do  what  is 
right  on  the  part  of  both,  and  a  willingness  to  make  any 
reasonable  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  world,  and  the 
benefit  and  delight  which  comes  with  health  and  healthy 
children.  The  immediate  sacrifice  is  not  one  at  all.  A 
much  higher  pleasure  will  come  in  its  place;  only  give  it 
a  chance. 

77 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

I  have  in  mind  a  case  where  the  husband  and  wife 
were  told  that  an  addition  to  their  family  of  children 
would  mean  certain  blindness  and  probable  death  to  the 
wife  and  mother  (one  of  the  salt  of  the  earth).  Though 
the  husband  was  a  minister,  well  along  in  years,  the  con- 
dition referred  to  came  about,  with  result  as  predicted. 
Soon  after,  this  old  man,  who  was  a  college  president 
as  well,  married  one  of  the  students ;  another  family,  and 
a  wife  with  nervous  prostration  was  the  outcome.  Such 
a  thing  looks  very  much  like  brutality  and  murder  of  the 
most  unnatural  kind,  with  results  as  desired.  So,  some 
men  kill  the  thing  they  are  said  to  love.  No  wonder  a 
noted  writer  calls  marriage  "legalized  assault."* 

If  a  man,  in  rage  or  passion,  or  to  get  rid  of  someone, 
killed  another  human  being,  he  would  be  imprisoned  at 
least.  A  woman  has  no  way  of  killing  her  husband  which 
would  be  sanctioned  by  law;  nor  does  she  wish  one. 
What  can  we  say  in  favor  of  this  passion,  which  is  utterly 
regardless  of  consequences,  so  it  may  be  gratified  (not 
satisfied)  to  its  own  loss?  What  miserable,  terrible 
selfishness  is  here]  Can  any  good  come  from  a  thing 
so  degrading?  Can  a  thing  so  abhorrent  in  one  phase  be 
good  in  another?  (We  can  any  of  us  recall  many  cases 
similar  to  the  one  above  cited,  though  with  varying 
results.)  The  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Company  tells 
us  that  eighteen  per  cent  more  married  women  than 
single  ones  die  between  the  ages  of  20  and  29,  while  fifty- 
seven  per  cent  more  single  men  die  between  these  ages 
than  married  men.  Draw  your  own  conclusions.  The 
question  is  asked,  "Is  marriage  a  test  of  courage?"  If 
it  is,  women  have  to  show  more  courage  than  men  when 
they  marry.  Is  that  one  reason  they  have  been  kept  in 

*  See  Appendix  M,  page  213. 

78 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

ignorance?  Records  of  the  past  would  show  a  much 
greater  proportion  in  favor  of  men.  Not  so  long  ago 
it  was  not  uncommon  for  a  man  to  have  had  and  lost 
five  or  six  wives.  The  man  was  not  to  blame,  when 
celebrating  his  golden  wedding  with  his  fourth  wife; 
oh  no,  the  Lord  afflicted  him;  so  goes  a  story  as  told 
jocosely  by  a  minister  in  my  hearing;  consecutive  polyga- 
my, a  la  divorce,'  seems  more  humane  and  advanced, 
doesn't  it? 

A  fountain  sends  not  forth  sweet  waters  and  bitter. 
Why  should  anything  which  has  good  in  it  be  so  per- 
sistently and  entirely  hidden?  The  normal  average 
person  may  see  nature  function  in  any  other  way  than 
that;  but  that  never.  In  the  so-called  brute  creation  the 
female  fights,  and  can  protect  herself  against  anything 
which  is  not  expected  to  be  followed  by  results.  'Tis 
only  the  sensitive  human  being  who  is  expected  and 
trained  to  accept  at  all  times  and  seasons,  when  results 
are  not  desired,  on  pain  of  being  thought  unnatural  (a 
powerful  lever — a  blow  from  the  fist  is  not  the  only 
knockdown  argument).  True,  there  are  among  brutes 
those  who  are  apparently  content  to  wallow. 

I  sometimes  wonder  if  I  am  missing  a  point  here;  and 
then  comes  the  vision  of  Phillips  Brooks,  of  Plato,  of 
St.  Paul,  Jesus,  and  others — a  long  line  of  good  men  and 
women — and  I  am  content.  Platonic  love,  St.  Paul's 
position — "Whoso  looketh" — are  they  not  different  ex- 
pressions of  the  same  thought?  Than  these  no  other 
lives  have  been  so  instrumental  for  good.  They  embodied 
no  ideas  physically.  I  would  not  be  understood  to  be- 
little this  function.  So  far  from  it,  that  it  seems  to 
me  necessary  for  the  present.  Had  these  great  ones  not 

79 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

been  embodied,  what  must  have  been  the  result,  as  we 
see  it  ?  All  honor  to  the  mothers  who  made  them  mani- 
fest, though  we  agree  that  mother  and  fatherhood  is  not 
wholly  physical.  Otherwise  who  would  help  to  better 
conditions  for  the  submerged  children  of  misery?  These 
children  arise  and  call  the  name  Addams,  Young,  Lathrop, 
Montessori,  Willard,  Washington,  Plato,  St.  Paul,  Jesus, 
and  many  others,  blessed. 

The  following  quotations  are  pertinent:  "The  ideal 
woman  is  without  desire."  Milton,  Tolstoi,  and  others 
(honest  physicians)  tell  plainly  of  the  immediate  result: 
depression  and  disgust.  Their  statements  are  known  to 
be  correct,  if  thought  is  taken.  Milton  makes  the  angel 
say,  in  response  to  Adam's  questioning : 

"...     think  the  same 

Vouchsafed  to  cattle  and  each  beast;  which  would  not  be 
To  them  made  common  and  divulge  if  ought 
Therein  enjoyed  were  worthy  to  subdue 
The  soul  of  man,  or  passion  in  him  move. 
What  higher  in  her  society  thou  find'st 
Attractive,  human,  rational,  love  still; 
In  loving  thou  dost  well,  in  passion  not, 
Wherein  true  love  consists  not:  Love  refines 
The  thought  and  heart  enlarges;  hath  his  seat 
In  reason,  and  is  judicious;  is  the  scale  by  which 
To  heavenly  love  thou  mayst  ascend, 
Not  sunk  in  carnal  pleasure;  for  which  cause 
Among  the  beasts  no  mate  for  thee  was  found!' 

Attention  is  called  to  a  series  of  books  under  the  caption 
of  "Life's  Problems,"  "Sex  Hygiene  pamphlets  issued  by 
the  Council  on  Health  and  Public  Instruction  of  the 
American  Medical  Association."  The  thoughtful  reader 

80 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

finds  that  throughout  these  pages  neither  morality,  char- 
acter, mentality  nor  spirituality  are  so  much  as  mentioned. 
In  reality  we  may  suppose  that  sex  has  nothing  to  do  with 
these  higher  and  most  important  attributes.  It  is  purely 
physical  and  animal  and  is  so  dealt  with  in  these  booklets, 
in  an  idealistic  way,  which  is  far  from  the  practical  norm 
at  this  time.  As  their  price  is  low,  one  foresees  their  wide 
perusal  and  influence.  Now  the  question  is  do  we  want 
our  children  and  young  people  to  be  taught  to  look  on  this 
problem  from  a  wholly  material  and  animal  standpoint. 
In  the  domesticated  animal  creation  this  impulse  is  con- 
trolled by  their  instincts  and  by  their  individual  oivners. 
Humanity  has  no  such  safeguards  against  over  indul- 
gence, and  has  proven  so  very  untrustworthy  in  the  past 
that  higher  laws  must  be  invoked,  not  ignored;  if  we 
are  ever  to  attain  the  right  attitude  toward  future  im- 
provement. 

In  justice  to  the  typical  American  husband,  it  must  be 
said  he  begins  to  see  this,  to  appreciate  and  to  act.  He 
is  very  nearly  an  archangel  by  comparison,  but  he  hardly 
knows  what  to  make  of  his  own  state  of  mind.  He  does 
not  see  yet  that  his  will  power  was  given  him  for  the 
purpose  of  self  control. 

You  will  notice  how  instinctively  men  bare  the  head 
in  the  presence  of  women.  Tis  out  of  respect  for  woman- 
hood, motherhood — not  for  the  individual.  Contrast  it 
with  the  scorn  and  hatred  shown  (by  men  even  more  than 
women)  for  the  same  womanhood  "fallen  and  aban- 
doned." Is  it  just  that  we  name  and  recognize  it,  but 
do  nothing  to  change?  Among  thoughtful  people  it  is 
conceded  that  few  women  go  astray  except  as  victims 
of  misplaced  confidence;  and  often  in  men  old  enough  to 

81 


Taking  '''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

be  their  fathers,  by  whom  their  minds  are  perverted. 
These  women  are  hated  and  persecuted,  hunted  by  men, 
one  might  say,  and  are  forever  debarred  the  society  of 
the  so-called  respectable.  They  do  not  dare  to  so  much 
as  lift  their  eyes  to,  nor  do  they  expect  to  be  recognized 
on  the  street  by,  the  very  men  who  have  ruined  them 
and  are  their  equals  and  companions.  Give  the  word 
ruin  its  true  value,  and  we  see  at  once  what  has  happened  : 
A  woman,  God's  last,  best  gift  to  (hu)  man  (ity),  is  said 
to  be  "ruined."  Can  we  by  any  sophistry  justify  (  !)  such 
a  catastrophe?  Instinctly  we  feel  what  a  desperate  sin 
(mistake)  they  are  committing,  and  the  feeling  mani- 
fests itself  unconsciously.  A  well-known  modern  writer 
speaks  of  "the  only  sin  a  woman  can  commit." 

Mesphisto's  sneering,  cold-blooded  reply  (to  the  words 
of  Faust,  wrung  from  him  as  a  groan  when  contemplat- 
ing Marguerite's  situation),  "She  is  not  the  first,"  reflects 
the  careless  attitude  of  the  average  mind  in  such  a  case. 
Faust's  rejoiner,  "Not  the  first!  Woe!  Woe!  By  no 
human  soul  is  it  conceivable  that  more  than  one  human 
creature  has  sunk  into  a  depth  of  wretchedness  like  this, 
or  that  the  first  in  her  writhing  death  agony  should  not 
have  atoned  in  the  sight  of  all-pardoning  Heaven  for 
the  guilt  of  all  the  rest.  The  misery  of  this  one  pierces 
me  to  the  very  marrow  and  harrows  up  my  soul;  thou 
art  grinning  calmly  over  the  doom  of  thousands !"  por- 
trays the  reality.  "Art  thou  the  man?"  And  should  not 
the  often  unconscious  or  embarrassed  grinning  be  changed 
to  intense  indignation?  We  say  we  are  not  right  to  feel 
and  do  as  we  do,  but  we  continue  so  to  do  and  feel.  And 
their  mistake  is  a  fearful  one  and  so  it  probably  must  be 
made  prominent.  But  the  man,  physically  at  advantage 

82 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

and  protected  by  man-made  conditions,  should  not  be 
allowed  to  go  scotfree  as  he  generally  does,  and  then  it 
would  not  be  such  a  joke  to  him.  Some  one  has  said : 
"For  the  man  a  moment  of  so-called  pleasure,  for  the 
woman  perhaps  a  lifetime  of  misery/'  Woman  is  not 
forever  going  to  be  made  a  scapegoat. 

We  do  not  realize  that  the  same  sin  is  being  carried 
on  all  about  us,  supposed  to  sanctioned  by  law  through 
a  few  words,  and  thus  is  thought  to  be  made  respectable, 
but  in  reality  it  is  just  as  much  of  a  sin  as  the  other. 
When  we  realize  this,  we  will  feel  as  strongly  against 
the  one  as  the  other,  and  our  smug  complacency  will 
vanish.  "Marriage  is  honorable  in  all  and  the  bed  unde- 
filed."  This  has  been  and  is  being  realized  by  many  as  an 
ideal  state,  and  it  is  not  a  condition  to  be  sneered  at,  but  to 
be  respected  as  well,  and  more,  than  is  absolute  temper- 
ance in  other  ways,  as  an  evidence  of  self  control. 

The  summary  and  awful  punishment  meted  out  to 
negro  criminal  assaulters  (men) — does  it  not  show  that 
we  recognize  this  sin  against  motherhood  as  the  crime 
against  humanity?  As  long  as  the  crime  continues,  the 
result  probably  will  and  should  be  what  it  is.  Is  not  what 
has  been  called  the  "white  man's  sin"  largely  responsible  ? 
The  negro  men,  who  rarely  dare  to  lift  their  eyes  to  a 
white  woman,  are  only  retaliating  in  kind,  though  at  a 
disadvantage.  The  shame  of  it  all ! 

The  logical  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  that  it  is 
through  the  violation  of  the  receptive  principle  (woman- 
hood, motherhood,  Holy  Spirit),  present  or  inherited, 
that  we  suffer  physically,  mentally,  and  spiritually  as  we 
do.  Any  violation  of  this  kind  must  be  disastrous.  We 
know  it  is  so  physically  and  mentally,  and  we  have  the 

83 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Scripture  statement  that  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost 
(the  receptive  principle)  is  unpardonable.  The  Holy 
Spirit  has  always  been  regarded  in  sacred  teachings  as 
that  which  makes  us  receptive  to  higher  things,  one 
definition  of  the  trinity  being:  "Father"  (God,  the  Giver), 
"Son"  (Christ,  the  Gift),  and  "Holy  Spirit"  (the  pure 
Receiver,  or  that  which  makes  us  pure  enough  to  receive 
the  gift). 

"A  virgin"  (an  unmarried  woman)  is  distinctively 
called  pure.  A  pure  virgin.  What  then  is  it  that  makes 
a  change  in  this  person  at  marriage — is  it  association 
with  man?  Are  his  thoughts  usually  unnaturally  and 
artificially  trained  to  be  impure,  and  does  he  insist  upon 
certain  "rights"  until  the  woman  is  also  perverted,  as  she 
does  many  times  become  to  a  certain  extent?  I  ask  for 
information  not  for  controversy.  We  recognize  that  a 
virgin,  young  woman,  seems  attractive  to  the  average 
man.  Now,  why  should  he  wish  to  make  her  unvirgin? 
"So  each  man  kills  the  thing  he  loves."  We  often  hear 
it  said,  and  know  it  to  be  true,  that  there  are  women  who 
are  very  impure ;  but  I  believe  that  were  we  to  look  into 
the  history  of  each  case  we  would  find  that  her  ruin 
had  been  accomplished  at  a  very  early  age  by  a  man  much 
older  than  she,  and  then  her  thought  dwelt  upon  it  till 
it  became  perverted.  She  could  never  be  the  same  again. 
She  bears  the  marks  on  her  person,  even  possibly  in  her 
circumstances  as  a  mother.  Mayor  Gaynor  said:  "Wo- 
men are  the  victims  of  men;  this  will  continue  until  the 
passions  of  men  have  been  softened  and  lessened.  These 
unfortunate  women  are  what  men  have  made  them.  Very 
few  of  them  entered  into  such  a  life  as  a  matter  of  choice. 
So  long  as  the  passions  of  men  are  so  strong  will  women 

84 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

be  the  victims  of  men."  Reports  from  the  Chicago 
Court  of  Domestic  Relations  and  the  Rockefeller  inves- 
tigations agree  with  above.  W.  L.  George  and  others 
please  take  notice.  These  returns  cannot  be  evaded.  We 
read  in  our  papers  almost  daily,  "Girl  Missing,"  who 
might  be  your  child  or  mine;  think  of  the  outcome; 
68,000  is  the  record  for  A.  D.  1919. 

To  call  an  act  which  is  subject  to  the  fiendish  abuse  of 
which  we  have  recently  had  object  lessons  of  stupendous 
and  super  shocking  import,  to  call  such  an  act  an  expres- 
sion of  romantic  love  (as  is  often  done  in  stories)  is  a 
perversion  of  sense.  It  is  an  expression  of  lust  and  should 
be  considered  as  such. 

Read  Kauffman  stories  "Why  the  girl  goes  wrong/' 
Kauffman  has  studied  this  question  at  first  hand  and 
speaks  with  authority. 

The  amazing  fact  is  brought  out  that  an  "artist" 
(musician,  painter  or  otherwise)  is  encouraged  to  believe 
that  he  can  only  do  his  best  work  after  experiencing 
physical  "passion."  (illicit  usually).  The  extreme 
opposite  is  the  truth,  as  any  thinking  person  must  admit. 
If  under  such  conditions  they  do  express  anything  fine  it 
must  be  in  spite  of,  instead  of  because  of,  such  experi- 
ence. Only  a  pure  mind  free  from  physical  passion  can 
rise  to  the  highest  expression  of  art ;  the  best  authorities 
agree  as  to  this. 

It  is  a  shock  to  a  person  of  normal  mind  to  be  made 
aware  that  the  prehistoric  "Cave  Man"  and  his  female 
(whatever  they  may  have  been)  are  often  in  modern 
parlance  (novels,  plays  and  movies)  used  as  fitting  ex- 
amples for  action  at  this  day.  If  such  tactics  seem  effec- 
tive up  to  a  certain  point,  with  weak-minded  people,  the 

85 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

semi-final  even,  can  only  be  disastrous,  as  is  proven  in 
real  life. 

The  average  mind  is  nearly  dazed  before  these  revela- 
tions, and  it  seems  almost  as  if  they  should  not  even  be 
mentioned  in  decent  society  but  they  are  set  before  us  in 
daily  papers  and  publications,  and  when  we  find  that  they 
are  vitiating  the  very  fabric  of  that  society,  and  that  the 
devil  is  only  hoping  that  they  will  be  ignored  until  he  can 
anihilate  existing  society,  we  are  convinced  that  it  should 
be  uncovered  and  destroyed  with  other  anarchistic  vipers 
and  serpents  ere  it  be  everlastingly  too  late,  and  the 
history  of  Sodom  be  repeated  in  a  world-wide  situation 
which  seems  to  be  facing  us  unless  met  with  drastic 
remedies.  Few  thinking  people  can  escape  this  conclu- 
sion. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MOST  of  the  feeling  evinced  by  women  for  men, 
either  older  or  younger  than  themselves — is  it 
not  really  the  natural,  perfectly  pure,  filial  or 
sister  love,  though  it  often  receives  a  different  name 
and  is  not  considered' creditable?  Often  it  is  what  George 
Eliot  calls  "the  longing  for  living  fellowship  with  the 
like-minded,  which  is  so  stimulating  to  the  intellectual 
life."  Women  suffer  from  this  more  than  men,  she 
says,  being  more  circumscribed  in  their  opportunities. 
She  wrote  of  a  time  that  is  fast  passing  away.  Through 
wrong  education  and  false  standards,  the  attitude  of  the 
average  man  (and  woman)  in  such  cases  must  be  ac- 
knowledged as  of  a  different  character ;  and  at  the  present 
stage  of  development  it  does  not  seem  safe,  but  is  like 
playing  with  fire:  some  one  is  very  sure  to  be  burned. 
Many  women  flatter  or  beguile  men  through  affectation 
of  ability  and  desire  to  fulfill  certain  conditions  when 
they  know,  and  men  should  know,  that  they  can  not  and 
will  not  "deliver  the  goods."  It  must  be  said  that  men 
are  easy  victims  of  their  own  desires,  not  of  the  woman. 

The  spectacle  of  a  young  woman  being  punished  by 
a  community  of  people  for  leading  astray  a  number  of 
married  men,  each  old  enough  to  be  her  father,  is  a  case 
in  point,  which  has  been  known  to  occur,  and  which 
should  need  no  comment  for  fair-minded  people.  The 
men  could  not  be  reached,  so  the  woman  was  made  a 
scapegoat  for  their  silly  iniquity. 

To  quote  from  Maeterlinck.  "For  my  part,  said  a  sage 
to  me  one  day,  I  have  never  come  across  a  woman  who 

87 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

did  not  bring  me  something  great."  He  was  great  him- 
self first  of  all.  (He  had  seeing  eyes.)  He  then  goes 
on:  "For  most  men  the  soul  must  be  banished  from  life, 
and  every  impulse  that  is  too  deep  must  be  brushed  aside ; 
and  therefore  it  is  that  woman,  who  is  so  much  nearer 
the  truth,  can  scarcely  ever  live  a  moment  with  them." 
He  might  have  added,  except  as  she  effaces  herself  for 
the  sake  of  seeming  peace  (where  there  is  no  peace) .  Oh, 
the  awful  double  waste  of  precious  force!  This  con- 
stant warfare  in  thought  is  manifested  in  present 
disturbed  world  conditions.  Peace,  of  course,  as  is 
everything,  is  a  manifestation  of  mind. 

Masonry,  with  its  spiritual,  symbolic  teaching,  was  only 
for  men.  They  needed  it ;  woman  perhaps  did  not.  The 
executive  mind  attends  to  these  things,  and  the  construc- 
tion we  put  on  the  reason  for  any  process  must  be — well, 
amusing  to  the  infinite  mind,  if  one  can  use  such  a  word 
in  this  connection,  and  I  see  no  reason  for  not  doing  so. 
Ask  Leonardo  why  his  "Mona  Lisa"*  smiles. 
"  Plato  calls  the  "Soul"  and  "Philosophy"  "She,"  making 
them  feminine  attributes.  His  "Wise  Woman"  in  the 
Symposium  says,  "Love  is  essentially  love  of  birth  and 
beauty."  Some,  she  says,  beget  earthly  children,  but 
others  are  more  creative  in  their  souls.  "He  who  in  his 
youth  has  the  seeds  of  temperance  and  justice  implanted 
in  him  desires  to  implant  them  in  others.  Above  all, 
when  he  finds  a  fair  and  noble  and  well  nourished  soul, 
he  is  full  of  speech  about  virtue  and  the  nature  and 
pursuits  of  a  good  man,  and  he  tries  to  educate  him,  and 
they  are  married  by  a  far  closer  tie  and  have  closer 
friendship  than  those  who  beget  mortal  children,  for  the 

*Probably  the  world's  greatest  picture. 

88 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

children  who  are  their  offspring  are  fairer  and  more  im- 
mortal. ...  In  such  deep  fashion  would  Plato,  the  pagan 
(?)  realize  the  maxim,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as 
thyself." 

It  is  in  the  family  that  each  has  an  opportunity  to  learn 
of  the  fatherhood  and  motherhood  of  God.  While  there 
are  those  who  never  had  husband,  wife,  or  child,  all  have 
fathers  and  mothers.  None  of  us  are  left  without  a 
chance  at  knowledge  of  that  most  important  relation- 
ship of  all.  God  is  Father-Mother,  principle  or  divine 
wisdom  guiding  us. 

In  Jeremiah  33  :i6,  we  read :  "In  those  days  shall  Judah 
be  saved,  and  Jerusalem  shall  dwell  safely:  and  this  is  the 
name  wherewith  she  shall  be  called,  the  Lord  our  right- 
eousness." "Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children." 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  cells  increase  until  the 
body  is  twenty-five  years  old,  hold  their  own  for  a  number 
of  years,  then  grow  senile  and  die,  seemingly.  But  science 
tells  us  that  they  are  superior  cells  and  do  not  really  die — 
the  life  is  still  there.  (See  page  35,  third  paragraph.) 

Among  the  cells  which  make  up  our  bodies  we  find 
some,  as  the  brain  cells,  cease  to  propagate  early  in 
prenatal  life,  and  only  improve  in  quality  thereafter.  Some 
cells  do  not  propagate  at  all,  but  their  part  is  to  help 
others.  To  preserve  already  existing  life  may  be  better 
than  to  reproduce  it.  "It  would  be  prettier  and  more 
convenient  to  pick  children  from  the  trees,"  as  Goethe 
expresses  it.  We  find  one  of  Goethe's  characters  saying : 

"Nay  Heaven  for  fend, 
That  ancient  method  begetting 
Is  now  from  its  high  honor  thrust. 
If  brutes  this  way  still  sate  their  lust, 

89 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Man  with  his  mighty  gifts  henceforth  I  wis, 
Must  have  a  source  more  pure  than  this" 

This  idea  is  vaguely  foreshadowed  in  Euphorion,  the 
offspring  of  Helena  and  Faust's  mental  communion  in  a 
garden. 

A  query  here  and  there  in  a  daily  paper  shows  that 
some  have  at  least  begun  to  wonder,  why?  Why  not 
improvements  in  methods  which  are  so  in  need  of  im- 
provement; as  follows:  "The  household  can  make  its 
own  ice.  Soon  it  can  buy  a  little  machine  that  will  turn 
out  butter  from  chemicals.  Why  cannot  science  give  us 
satisfactory  men  and  women  without  the  trouble  of 
growing  them."  We  never  say  we  produce  life — it  is 
already  existent  and  never  dies — that  of  course  follows. 
"A  preternaturally  reanimated  body  would  be  a  wonder- 
ful thing  in  the  economy  of  nature." 

Many  are  encouraged  in  the  attractive  thought  and  they 
desire  to  see,  in  human  children,  the  gift  of  God.  The 
following  illustrations  may  make  a  phase  of  the  apparent 
situation  clear :  A  man  in  search  of  a  child  to  adopt  went 
to  a  home  finder's  institution ;  there  he  was  closely  ques- 
tioned as  to  his  habits  of  life;  when  it  was  found  that  he 
occasionally  drank  whiskey,  went  to  Sunday  horse  races, 
etc.,  he  was  not  allowed  to  take  the  child  because  he  was 
not  considered  fit  to  have  charge  of  one.  "H'mm !"  he 
said,  "you  are  more  particular  than  the  Almighty."  If 
God  sends  any  human  child  then  he  sends  all ;  and  do  we 
think  God  would  send  helpless  children  into  places  where 
they  can  have  no  chance  for  a  good  life ;  when  we  would 
condemn  ourselves  and  others,  and  be  condemned  for 
doing  such  a  thing?  Well,  then,  are  God's  ways  worse 

90 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Info  One" 

than  ours?  No,  God's  ways  are  higher  and  better  than 
our  ways,  not  worse  and  lower.  Do  we  apologize  for 
Him. 

What  would  be  thought  of  a  person  who  would  drown 
a  little  child;  yet  we  give  God  credit  for  doing  just  that, 
when  we  call  such  a  catastrophe  a  "dispensation  of 
providence,"  and  say  "God's  will  be  done,"  in  regard  to 
it.  God's  will  is  not  done,  and  that  is  the  cause  of  the 
disaster.  And  we  who  theoretically  are  supposed  to  have 
only  one  God,  are  crying  "Good  God,  Good  Devil!"  In 
practice  acknowledging  two  gods  or  powers,  good  and  evil, 
proving  ourselves  true  children  of  Adam  and  Eve,  who 
in  Paradise  listened  to  the  thought  that  there  was  a  power 
apart  from  God,  when  God  is  one — is  Good — is  all.  If 
mortal  children  are  the  gift  of  God  how  is  it  that  they 
are  killed  off  like  flies  in  war,  pestilence,  earthquake, 
famine,  avoidable  accidents,  murder,  etc.  Do  we  thus 
give  them  back  to  God  or  does  He  thus  take  them?  Can 
anyone  offer  a  reasonable  explanation?  "I  know  the 
thoughts  which  I  think  toward  you  saith  the  Lord, 
thoughts  of  good  and  not  of  evil,  to  give  you  an  expected 
(a  reasonable)  end." 

A  noted  semi-religious  writer  takes  space  in  his  own 
well-known  magazine  to  say:  "God  gives  us  children  to 
finish  for  Him."  One  wonders  then  what  God  was  think- 
ing of,  and  what  He  thinks  of  the  result  of  "His"  plan  ; 
apparently  He  will  have  to  try  again,  if  this  writer's  idea 
is  true.  Fancy  omnipotent  God  taking  such  devious,  un- 
certain, and  futile  courses  if  you  can;  I  cannot.  I  must 
say  it  sometimes  seems  as  if  men  (and  some  women) 
wanted  children  as  they  want  others  things;  because 
other  people  have  them — for  entertainment  and  show ;  to 
play  providence  to,  and  because  of  a  vague  hope  of  some 

91 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  File" 

way  gaining  "immortality"  through  them.  They  do  not 
know  how,  nor  do  they  ask  what  becomes  of  this  sort 
of  immortality  when  the  children  die,  and  have  no  issue, 
or  the  succeeding  generations  die  out  as  they  often  do. 
If  mothers  have  "plenty  of  healthy  children"  then  fathers 
will  be  super-immortal.  Is  that  the  idea?  The  mothers 
do  not  usually  figure  in  these  calculations,  I  observe, 
except  as  mediums.  This  is  reasoning  on  a  very  weak 
and  low  plane.  It  gives  us  no  reason  for  the  hope  of  im- 
mortality. Read  Matthew  XIX,  12. 

Isaiah  LVI,  3-5  reads:  "Neither  let  the  eunuch  say, 
Behold,  I  am  a  dry  tree.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto 
the  eunuchs  that  keep  my  sabbaths,  and  choose  the  things 
that  please  me,  and  take  hold  of  my  covenant ;  even  unto 
them  will  I  give  in  mine  house  and  within  my  walls  a 
place  and  name  better  than  of  sons  and  daughters :  I  will 
give  them  an  everlasting  name,  that  shall  not  be  cut  off." 

But  the  inspired  o-ne  has  little  claim  on  our  attention 
when  some  of  the  wise  men  of  the  present  day  are  speak- 
ing. Also  we  know  that  "There  is  a  resemblance  between 
the  birth  of  a  real  book  and  the  birth  of  a  child.  The 
book,  like  the  child,  has  its  inception,  incubation,  birth. 
The  book  is  the  "offspring  of  the  intellect,  vitalized  by 
genius."  "Mental  children  grow  as  physical  children  do 
and  are  named  that  they  may  be  individualized." 

As  to  the  pompous  question  asked  in  the  movie  film  all 
over  the  world  in  big  letters,  "WHERE  ARE  MY  CHIL- 
DREN," it  might  be  pertinent  to  put  into  the  mouths  of 
tens  of  thousands  of  children,  "Where  are  our  fathers?" 
The  answer  would  be  in  many  cases,  they  have  died  or 
have  deserted  us  and  left  us  to  starve,  for  all  they  or  the 

92 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

man  controlled  municipality  care.  Race  suicide  indeed.* 
The  movement  to  "give  a  husband  to  every  mother  and  a 
name  to  her  child"  may  have  only  the  effect  of  loosing  the 
bonds  of  morality,  as  can  easily  be  seen.  Who  is  to  hold 
the  man  to  his  responsibility  ? 

Jane  Addams  says: — "At  the  present  moment  women 
in  Europe  are  being  told :  "Bring  children  into  the  world 
for  the  benefit  of  the  nation:  for  the  strenthening  of 
future  battle  lines;  forget  everything  that  you  have 
been  taught  to  hold  dear;  forget  your  long  struggle  to 
establish  the  responsibility  of  fatherhood.''  "All  such 
consequences  of  war  mitigate  against  the  age  long  efforts 
of  women  to  establish  paternity  of  her  child  and  the 
father's  responsibility  for  it." 

The  one  thing  on  which  we  may  base  our  hope  for  per- 
manence as  a  nation,  is  the  great  fact  that  our  government 
does  not  stand  for  oppression  or  immorality  in  private  or 
public  life.  The  private  life  of  all  our  Presidents,  with  a 

*  Quite  recently  a  young  woman  in  one  of  our  large  cities 
whose  husband  had  been  taken  in  death,  killed  herself  and  her 
seven  boy  children  rather  than  face  the  future  in  this  civilized 
country;  and  no  thoughtful  person  can  blame  her;  she  had 
been  taught  that  she  should  have  children,  and  love  them, 
which  she  did,  better  than  her  own  life,  which  doubtless  held 
little  beside  her  husband  and  these  children  for  her.  Then 
comes  the  climax;  they  are  to  be  taken  from  her  and  scattered 
about  as  if  she  and  they  were  animals  or  slaves;  and  she  left 
to  face  the  world  alone  with  probably  no  training  for  anything 
but  an  existence  of  poorly  paid  drudgery.  Let  those  whose 
daughters  escape  such  a  fate  withhold  their  judgment.  A  partial 
remedy  for  this  terrible  situation  is  being  applied  in  some  states 
and  cities  at  this  late  day,  through  the  efforts  of  women,  who  are 
hampered  by  the  lack  of  direct  influence  through  the  ballot,  which 
they  should  have  had  long  ago. 

93 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

few  exceptions,  has  been  above  excuse  for  reproach ;  and 
public  opinion  in  this  country  is  loudly  expressed  for  de- 
cency and  justice.  This  means  much  as  a  necessary  ex- 
ample and  object  lesson  for  the  children;  and  to  our 
people  generally.* 

*  See  Appendix  C,  page  201. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  late  Professor  Fiske  capped  Mr.  Darwin's 
climax  by  claiming  to  state,  with  authority  and 
originality,  that  the  evolution  of  the  animal  body 
was  complete  in  the  human  body  as  we  see  it  now.  Its 
manifestation,  alas !  seems  lacking,  and  the  wail  from 
a  modern  writer  that  the  hands  of  the  Potter  are  not 
steady,  that  in  the  moulding  of  human  forms  the  thought 
seems  to  be  "not  how  good,  but  how  many,"  seems  justi- 
fiable. But  here,  again,  may  we  not  be  shifting  the  blame 
from  ourselves  (the  old  story,  the  Adam  within),  when 
it  really  belongs  to  us?  We  may  be  jarring  the  hands  of 
the  Potter.  If  we  are  tending  toward  unity — one-ness — 
and  are  to  be  at  all  logical,  should  not  our  motto  really 
be,  "Not  how  many,  but  how  good?"  We  know  it  to  be 
best  in  the  end,  in  material  things,  and  "as  above,  so 
below." 

Our  interest  in  the  education  of  the  masses  is  great 
and  we  are  sure  it  is  the  thing  needed;  then  if  educa- 
tion educates  why  do  we  not  accept  its  conclusions  ex- 
pressed in  action,  in  one  direction  as  well  as  in  another. 
I  think  it  is  perfectly  fair  to  say  that  those  most  highly 
educated  are  the  ones  who  yield  to  this  least  and  who 
have  the  fewest  children  (are  said  to  scarcely  reproduce 
themselves).  Are  they  incompetent  to  judge  for  them- 
selves? Such  a  position  is  surely  far  from  logical. 

Ideas  in  regard  to  the  size  of  families  are  changing 
(and  probably  rightly  so)  ;  to  quote  from  a  modern 
writer:  "Two  or  three  children  are  a  necessary  part  of 
every  good  woman's  education";  when  not  so  long  ago 

95 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

a  dozen  or  more  were  not  considered  too  many.  The 
world  moves.  We  are  apt  to  think,  with  Matthew 
Arnold's  British  Philistine,  "That  it  is  only  necessary 
to  present  ourselves  before  the  Great  White  Throne  with 
our  twelve  children,  our  big  family  (anything  big  is  so 
impressive),  to  be  received  among  the  sheep  as  a  matter 
of  right."  Where  have  we  gotten  this  idea?  From  the 
Jews,  I  suspect,  who  wished  large  families,  because 
among  their  children  might  be  the  expected  Messiah. 

But  if  we  read  their  history  we  find  that  it  was  the 
child  of  promise  long  deferred,  often  the  only  offspring, 
who  was  most  useful.  Isaac,  in  whose  seed  all  the 
nations  were  to  be  blessed,  was  an  only  child,  born 
after  long  years  of  preparation.  Sarah,  his  mother,  a 
beautiful  talented  woman  whose  council  was  highly 
valued.  Isaac's  only  children  were  twins — Jacob  (the 
father  of  all  Israel)  and  Esau — and  Isaac's  wife,  Rebecca, 
was  of  a  lovely  character.  Joseph,  the  child  of  Rachel 
("whom  Jacob  loved"),  was  born  late  in  her  life,  and 
she  had  but  one  other  child.  Jacob's  affection  for  Joseph 
was  the  cause  of  jealousy  among  his  brothers;  and  we 
know  from  his  Egyptian  experiences  what  a  remarkable 
person  he  was. 

Sampson,  also  was  a  child  of  promise.  Samuel,  who 
judged  Israel  forty  years,  and  of  whom  the  people  pro- 
claimed that  he  had  never  wronged  any  one,  was  an  only 
child,  born  after  years  of  prayer  and  supplication  on 
the  part  of  Hannah,  his  mother,  who  was  herself  a 
remarkable  woman,  and  whose  husband  appreciated  and 
loved  her  greatly,  asking  her,  "Am  I  not  more  to  thee 
than  ten  sons?"  The  child  of  the  Shunamite  woman 
(than  whom  no  stronger  character  is  portrayed  in  the 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Bible)  was  the  only  one  and  long  delayed.  What  strength 
and  decision  was  hers,  and  with  what  spiritual  insight 
she  recognized  the  Prophet  in  Elisha,  and  ministered  to 
him  with  all  faith,  receiving  help  from  him  in  return. 
John  the  Baptist,  a  child  of  promise,  was  an  only  child, 
and  his  parents  were  well  along  in  years  when  he  was 
born.  By  the  Roman  Catholics,  Jesus  himself  is  said  to 
be  Mary's  only  chi.ld;  though  I  suppose,  really,  no  one 
knows. 

Some  one  is  said  to  have  replied  to  Tolstoi's  final:  "If 
your  idea  was  carried  out,  there  would  be  no  children/' 
He  answered,  "Well,  what  of  that  ?"  Jesus  had  no  family 
and  he  said,  "Call  no  man  your  father  on  earth."  This 
is  worthy  of  consideration  at  least. 

As  physical  children  (results),  "multiplying  sorrow 
and  conception,"  pronounced  as  a  curse  (not  a  blessing 
if  we  are  to  regard  Bible  teaching)  are  not  spoken  of 
until  after  the  fall,  must  we  not  infer  that  the  so-called 
creative  act  did  not  occur  before,  when  man  (generic) 
was  pure  and  happy?  There  were  then  no  children 
(undeveloped  ideas)  in  Paradise.  "When  lust  has  con- 
ceived it  bringeth  forth  sin,  and  sin  when  it  is  finished 
bringeth  forth  death."  Surely  it  appears  that  every  physi- 
cal child  born  must  die ;  doomed  to  a  more  or  less  lingering 
death  from  (because  of)  physical  birth.  Its  first  result 
(the  child  Cain)  developed  into  a  fratricide,  a  murderer. 
What  can  be  plainer  than  that  he  was  a  child  of  lust,  and 
lust  must  be  eradicated,  so  that  there  is  no  chance  for  a 
child  to  be  born  of  it?  Because  the  child  of  lust  is  sin  (a 
mistake)  and  bringeth  forth  death.  Some  such  thing 
must  be  what  David  meant  when  he  said  "conceived  in 
sin  and  born  in  iniquity." 

97 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Jesus'  expression,  "Generation  of  vipers,"  conveyed 
a  powerful  rebuke.  It  is  well  known  that  the  human 
embryo  first  appears  as  a  serpent,  later  taking  the  form 
and  characteristic  features  of  fish,  bird,  and  beast  in  suc- 
cession and  shedding  a  coat  of  coarse  hair  ere  reaching 
the  stage  of  human,  before  birth.  (See  encyclopedia). 
In  most  oriental  countries  the  bearing  of  children  is  in- 
consistently considered  a  disgrace  and  is  to  be  avoided  if 
possible.  In  the  Jewish  and  Roman  Catholic  churches 
women  are  required  to  be  purified  after  childbirth ;  it  was 
even  required  of  the  mother  of  Jesus.  There  is  a  special 
service  in  the  Episcopal  Church  for  such  purpose.  We 
know  that  in  many  countries  children,  especially  girls, 
are  killed  off  regardlessly  and  death  is  honorably  courted 
under  certain  circumstances,  in  many  cases  by  suicide. 
At  the  present  the  number  of  suicides  is  appalling  and 
we  seem  dulled  to  it.  Job  was  said  to  be  justified  when 
he  cursed  the  day  of  his  (mortal)  birth. 

Many  are  likely  to  agree,  in  the  statement  often  made, 
that  man  is  a  creator,  but  let  us  look  at  it  more  closely: 
if  man  creates  man,  then  does  it  not  follow  that  dog 
creates  dog,  and  bug  creates  bug,  and  so  on;  and  does 
not  that  give  us  many  creators,  when  the  Bible  says  we 
have  only  one.  And  if  we  judge  by  distinctive  appear- 
ances must  we  not  say  man  is  a  miscreator?  "Man  that 
is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days  and  full  of  trouble." 
In  the  Bible  we  are  told  that  "whosoever  is  born  of  God 
doth  not  commit  sin  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him :  and 
he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  His  seed 
remaineth  in  him  to  regenerate  himself.  Whose  seed 
remaineth  in  him  surely  does  not  mean  that  the  seed  goes 

98 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One1' 

outside  and  creates  independently,  but  that  it  remaineth 
and  regenerates  himself. 

Truly  when  we  have  reached  a  position  where  we  say 
that  disease  germs  and  microbes  are  causative,  are  causing 
this  or  that  incurable  condition,  we  give  them  a  power 
greater  than  we  give  to  God,  the  one  Creator;  and  we 
have  probably  reached  the  limit  in  bowing  before  false 
gods  (or  idols)  in  having  "gods  many,"  creators  many. 
It  is  certainly  time  for  a  right  about  face.  Why  may  we 
not  be  satisfied  with  the  idea  of  "God's  family"?  All 
sorts  of  trouble  come  from  that  little  word  My.  "My 
hand  and  the  strength  of  my  arm  have  gotten  me  these 
things/'  Where  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  which  we  profess 
to  follow,  do  we  get  a  model  for  a  human  family?  He 
had  no  human  father,  and  He  said,  "Call  no  man  your 
father  on  earth,  for  one  is  your  father  in  Heaven." 
Though  a  middle  aged  man,  in  His  country,  He  never 
took  upon  Himself  the  responsibility  of  a  family;  He 
never  to  our  knowledge,  called  Mary  mother.  When  told : 
"Your  mother  and  brethren  are  without,"  He  said :  "Who 
are  my  mother  and  brethren,  even  those  who  do  the  will 
of  my  Father."  St.  John  said,  "God  is  able  of  these  stones 
to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham."  And  again  Jesus 
said:  "They  who  are  counted  worthy  to  attain  (the 
resurrection)  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage 
but  are  as  the  angels."  Each  one  must  draw  his  own 
conclusions.  We  are  none  of  us  responsible  for  these 
facts,  but  are  we  not  responsible  if  we  say  we  are  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus,  and  then  do  not  at  all  as  he  did  ? 

It  is  surely  known  ere  this  that  I  do  not  write  of  that 
which  is  merely  pleasant  and  probable,  and  apparently 
desirable,  but  of  abstract  right  and  wrong.  I  can  scarcely 

99 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

credit  my  own  conclusions.  If  the  premises  that  "analogy 
is  the  key  to  all  the  the  secrets  of  nature  and  the  sole 
reason  for  being  of  all  manifestation,"  taught  by  the 
Masons  for  thousands  of  years,  are  not  accepted,  it  only 
proves  people,  whether  right  or  wrong,  not  to  be  on  the 
same  plane  of  thought;  and  some  may  have  to  wait  for 
another  time.  I  am  struck  with  the  fact  that  the  "secrets" 
of  Masonry,  as  of  nature  and  life,  though  they  were 
proclaimed  from  the  house-tops,  would  still  be  "secrets" 
except  to  the  mentally  initiated.  A  strange  provision, 
but  we  must  suppose  a  wise  one,  that  strong  meat  be  not 
given  to  babes. 

I  have  not  given  this  thought :  it  has  been  forced  upon 
me  by  the  observation  of  ordinary,  everyday  conditions. 
It  should  be  understood  that  I  appreciate  man,  but  I 
also  appreciate  woman,  and  wish  to  see  her  do  her  best 
for  the  race,  not  to  be  forever  thwarted.  This  attitude 
takes  no  little  courage,  for  one  may  expect  through  it 
to  be  misunderstood  by  most,  and  that  is  no  pleasant  or 
easy  state.  I  have  endeavored  to  eliminate  "Thou"  and 
"I,"  man — woman,  thy  experience,  my  experience  (Per- 
sonality), and  get  down  to  humanity.  I  consider  it  sheer 
sophistry  (which  is  apt  to  be  indulged  in)  to  say  a  thing 
may  be  right  for  one  and  not  for  another,  because  the 
senses  say  so.  There  must  be  a  standard,  a  mathematical 
foundation,  a  truth.  Do  not  the  senses  deceive?  Try  to 
solve  a  mathematical  problem  with  them  and  see  where 
they  lead  you.  The  senses  perceive  a  statement  that 
twice  two  equals  five :  how  quickly  the  mind  corrects  such 
an  impression !  And  we  see  that  to  get  the  right  thought 
is  of  the  greatest  value. 

100 


"They  Shall  Know  Themsehes'JntaVM'-:  |\j 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  proper  position  in  regard  to 
procreation  (if  the  proper  position  is  what  we  are  really 
after  and  not  a  position  that  will  not  interfere  with  the 
fancied  privilege  and  pleasure  o<f  a  class)  is  that  con- 
ception (at  least)  should  have  the  sanctity  of  virginity, 
instead  of  the  opposite  extreme  which  is  often,  perhaps 
generally,  the  case.  This  might  do  much  to  reconcile 
women  to  their  so-called  privileges,  but  I  am  afraid  it 
might  not  have  that  effect  on  all  men,  with  our  present 
understanding ;  then  the  brothels  with  their  many  woman 
victims  and  crimes  generally  would  increase  because  the 
man  must  not  control  himself ;  and  a  wife  would  undergo 
almost  anything,  and  invite  it,  rather  than  have  her  special 
Adam  go  astray,  desert  her,  commit  adultery,  perhaps 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  and  never  be  forgiven. 
Many  forces  are  brought  to  bear.  Self-control  for  man 
would  do  much  toward  eliminating  the  worst  features  of 
the  race  trouble  in  the  South.  The  white  man's  sin  is 
made  evident  in  the  number  of  mulattoes;  and  is  not 
the  negro  man  incited  to  his  fearful  crimes  by  the  natural 
desire  to  get  even.  Let  man  look  to  it;  he  in  his  lust 
and  he  only  is  to  blame  for  the  horrors  of  outrage  and 
lynching.*  It  is  a  fearful  responsibility.  In  its  wake 
follow  the  most  awful  crimes  known  to  man :  violation  of 
the  motherhood  principle.  Aside  from  the  individual 
agony  which  for  one  woman  alone,  would  far  outweigh 
any  pleasure  the  white  man  could  gain  from  his 
beastliness.  Why  not  say  these  things  which  are  known 

*Right  here  the  false  charge  so  often  made  that  "A  bad 
woman  is  worse  than  a  bad  man"  is  self-refuted,  as  it  has 
been  again  and  again,  only  to  bob  up  crudely  again  and  again, 
with  still  no  proper  proof  offered.  God  grant  us  patience. 

101 


• 'Forth,  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 


to  be  true?  If  women  were  guilty  of  such  performances, 
there  would  be  remarks  made  of  no  uncertain  character. 

The  Japanese  (and  Chinese)  appear  to  be  more 
materially  logical  in  some  things  than  we;  they  see  what 
love  in  its  material  manifestation  is;  to  them  it  belongs 
with  the  "Yoshiwara,"  and  they  do  not  deem  it  a  proper 
subject  for  conversation.  Their  general  conversation  is 
said  to  be  not  over  proper,  in  our  sense  of  the  word; 
but  they  are  shocked  when  they  first  begin  to  read  our 
so-called  love  stories,  though  they  are  said  to  acquire  a 
taste  for  them  in  time.  Vitiated  as  they  are,  they  do  seem 
a  shade  or  two  better  than  what  they  have.  Shintoism, 
a  nature  religion,  has  no  moral  teaching,  and  I  believe 
neither  Shintoism  or  Buddhism  has  a  word  signifying 
God;  who  is  Spirit,  Love.  So  the  word  has  only  one 
meaning  to  them;  while  we  have  more  than  a  glimpse 
of  the  truth  in  regard  to  its  real  meaning,  proving  our 
religion  to  be  more  spiritual.  The  Japanese,  who  have 
an  unerring  instinct  for  the  best,  when  it  is  properly 
presented  to  them,  are  quick  to  see  this  and  realize  that 
Christianity  is  the  best,  and  that  they  want  it,  as  they 
want  and  accept  the  best  in  other  directions. 

That  conditions  in  Japan  regarding  woman  are 
improving  is  largely  due  to  the  work  of  Christian  mis- 
sionaries. In  that  country,  as  is  well  known,  any  man 
has  been,  and  perhaps  is  now,  allowed  to  sell  any  woman 
of  his  family  into  this  immoral  bondage.  Yet  some,  so- 
called,  popular  authors  make  capital  in  opera,  play,  and 
story,  of  what  they  call  "romance"  out  of  such  tragic 
conditions;  and  our  "best  people"  (?)  applaud  them 
vigorously. 

102 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

The  following,  taken  from  a  paper  published  in 
Colombo,  Ceylon  (the  fountain  head  of  Buddhism),  is 
of  interest:  "As  regards  Buddhism  I  may  say  that  its 
attitude  toward  connubial  matters  is  clear.  For  those 
who  aspire  to  attain  to  a  higher  state  of  morality  and 
intelligence,  it  inculcates  pure  and  perfect  celibacy.  Those 
are  men  and  women  who  give  up  their  lives  for  religion 
and  the  good  of  the  world.  Inordinate  sex  indulgence, 
under  which  we  must  class  polygamy,  adultery,  etc.,  is 
unequivocally  condemned,  and  in  some  places  we  find  it 
put  down  along  with  drunkenness,  gambling,  etc.,  which 
bring  disastrous  consequences  on  the  doer  of  this  in  life 
itself.  It  regards  matrimony  as  an  evil  which  has  become 
a  necessity  and  a  custom  owing  to  the  sin  fulness  of  the 
world,  and  from  such  a  thing  how  far  and  in  what  degree 
a  man  can  abstain,  so  far  and  so  much  the  better  for 
him."  (I  would  add  that  the  present-day  Buddhism,  of 
which  Theosophy  is  an  exponent,  is  to  some  extent 
Christianized.  An  advance,  still,  far  behind  the  Christi- 
anity which  it  repudiates.  Observation  would  seem  to 
show  that  it  cannot  organize  without  the  aid  of  the 
western  mind.  Its  Catechisms  are  made  for  it  by  Ameri- 
cans, and  human  life  is  not  at  all  safe  under  its  jurisdic- 
tion, except  where  Christian  nations  hold  sway.  If  you 
happen  to  think  their  religion  better  than  ours,  just  go 
and  live  among  them  "au  natural"  for  awhile.) 

We  find  that  Tolstoi  has  the  Oriental  idea.  It  is  said 
that  no  one  could  talk  long  with  him  without  hearing 
how  dangerous  and  wrong  he  considered  the  manifesta- 
tion of  what  is  generally  called  love.  "Temperance  finds 
in  the  great  novelist  an  enthusiastic  supporter.  To  him 
romantic  love  also  is  intemperance.  The  tender  passion 

103 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

that  from  all  time  has  been  the  theme  of  the  poet  and 
novelist,  Tolstoi  deems  a  species  of  moral  depravity,  on  a 
par  with  gluttony,  the  smoking  of  opium,  or  indulgence 
in  strong  drink.  A  person  finding  himself  or  herself 
in  love  should  fight  against  it  as  against  the  opium  habit 
or  any  other  pernicious  thing.  Theater  going  (with  its 
immoral  plays),  dancing,  romantic  literature  of  all 
kinds — anything,  in  short,  that  excites  the  imagination  to 
thoughts  of  (so-called)  love — is  intemperance.  Cupid 
is  the  devil  in  his  most  awful  guise.  These  theories  the 
Count  has  advanced  to  visitors  in  the  presence  of  his 
wife  and  two  daughters  and  other  women  relatives  with- 
out a  trace  of  embarrassment  on  either  side.  Matrimony 
brought  about  by  romantic  love  he  holds  to  be  an  unholy 
alliance;  men  and  women  should  love  each  other  as 
friends  or  brothers  and  sisters."  But  it  is  because  he 
sees  love  betrayed,  not  honored,  he  speaks  of  lust,  not 
love. 

Some  of  our  self-elected  wise  ones  vaingloriously 
criticize  Count  Tolstoi  in  a  tolerant  way.  It  is  almost 
amusing  when  one  realizes  that  Tolstoi  through  sheer 
strength  and  merit  has  been  made  even  more  powerful 
in  Russia  than  the  Czar  himself.  When  these  little 
critics  who  take  themselves  so  seriously  get  away  from 
their  own  shadows  they  may  see  themselves  in  the  true 
light ;  also  their  material,  temporal  work,  compared  with 
his  spiritual,  eternal  work,  which  they  attempt  to  "damn 
with  faint  praise/'  It  must  make  one  indignant  and 
ashamed  to  see  the  works  of  Tolstoi  and  Gorky  classed 
as  indecent  and  with  books  of  the  "Lady  of  Quality" 
sort,  by  our  men  librarians  (they  are  the  competent 

104 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

censors).     That  is  right,  gentlemen-;  cover  up  the  cess- 
pools and  build  hospitals  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff. 

These  books  do  report  terrible  conditions,  and  are  the 
voices  of  the  people  raised  in  agony  of  protest  and  sup- 
plication ;  and  we  are  not  even  to  be  allowed  to  hear 
their  cry ;  voiced  under  difficulties  which  might  well  make 
the  stoutest  heart  quail.  What  we  need  are  real  librarians 
who  know  Truth  from  rotten  Fiction.  A  council  of 
"elder  women"  would  tell  you  that  the  books  most 
generally  read  in  our  public  libraries  are  much  worse 
than  useless;  they  are  stultifying  and  harmful,  holding 
false  standards  and  wronging  idealism.  A  man  has  well 
characterized  American  fiction  as  "Standardized  flap- 
doodleism"  (or  worse  if  possible).  A  shameful  state  of 
affairs  in  which  men  grow  rich  and  famous  through  the 
ghoulish  corruption  of  unprotected,  immature  minds.  Of 
course,  there  are  many  good  books,  but  the  average  mind 
needs  to  be  most  carefully  guided  (even  controlled)  in 
selection  by  something  really  wise.  But  here  are  the  books 
good  and  bad,  classed  together  in  an  irresponsible  way. 
The  pity  of  it.  There  are  many  who  think  that  public 
money  should  not  be  wasted  in  buying  rotten  fiction.  Let 
those  who  wish  such  books  buy  for  themselves.  Under 
the  circumstances  there  would  not  be  so  many  books  of 
this  class  written,  and  more  good  books  would  be  read. 
They  are  certainly  a  prolific  source  of  mental  disease 
germs  and  microbes,  which  are  the  producing  cause  of  all 
wrong  material  conditions;  not  vice  versa,  as  we  have 
vainly  supposed.  We  are  conscious  that  there  is  mental 
contagion  which  is  serious.  I  believe  contagion  will  be 
seen  to  be  wholly  mental. 

105 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Some  there  are  who  have  no  idea  what  Plato's  real 
position  is,  or  what  he  has  done  for  the  world.  They 
should  set  themselves  to  find  out  ere  they  show  resent- 
ment. We  know  that  Socrates  and  Plato  foretold  the 
Christ.  There  is  no  reasonable  doubt  that  they  had  access 
to  the  Old  Testament;  and  had  they  lived  later  in  time 
might  easily  have  been  Christians.  Plato  judged  women 
to  be  inferior  to  men,  but  thought  they  should  have  every 
opportunity  for  education  and  should  have  a  voice  in  the 
government,  as  they  are  subject  to  its  laws.  (But  his 
Ideal  republic  was  made  up  of  women,  or  feminine  ideas.) 
We,  however,  are  not  supposed  to  be  followers  of  Plato, 
neither  of  Paul,  Peter,  or  Timothy,  but  of  Christ  Jesus. 
He  never  failed  in  right  understanding,  and  he  made  no 
invidious  distinctions.  Jesus  saved  woman,  too.  He  tells 
us  that  salvation  is  a  matter  of  knowing,  and  says  nothing 
about  "child  bearing."  To  know  him  aright,  "this  is 
life  eternal."  You  shall  "know  the  Truth,  and  the  Truth 
shall  make  you  free."  It  stands  us  in  hand,  women  as 
well  as  men,  to  get  at  it,  find  out  and  know  what  the 
Truth  is ;  what  is  right ;  and  act  upon  it — doing  is  know- 
ing. We  certainly  are  not  free  now;  no  one  who  thinks 
can  say  that  we  are;  which  shows  that  we  do  not  yet 
know  the  Truth.  Then  why  do  we  cling  so  tenaciously 
to  untruth,  pompously  teaching  out  of  date  behind  the 
times  philosophy,  and  not  even  knowing  it?  If  we  are 
children  of  light  why  do  we  not  walk  in  the  light? 


106 


CHAPTER  VI 

A  few  visits  to  the  movies  will  dispel  any  illusion  as 
to  the  difference  in  quality  between  the  purposes  of  men 
and  women.  By  the  time  you  have  seen  and  studied  the 
plots  of  books,  plays  and  movie  scenarios  you  will 
naturally  be  led  to  think  that  the  main  purpose  of  man  has 
been  to  roughly  and  horribly  abduct  and  assault,  deceive 
and  desert  women,  children  and  men ;  make  them  walk  the 
plank;  throw  them  to  the  wild  beasts;  kill,  torture  and 
smash;  from  Charlie  Chaplin,  who  receives  the  banner 
world  salary  (extreme  Royalty  excepted)  down  to  the 
best  actors.  From  the  " Conquest  of  Troy"  on,  men  do 
not  always  appear  to  advantage,  and  must  often  be 
apologised  for. 

One  has  only  to  see,  in  the  play  "The  Fall  of  Troy," 
and  the  situation  the  day  after,  that  the  revenge  which 
Agamemnon  and  his  doughty  warriors  took  on  the  inno- 
cent women  and  children  "left  overs"  of  the  carnage,  was 
in  itself  alone  all  out  of  proportion  to  poor  Helen's  mis- 
take. If  Helen  deliberately  ran  away  with  Paris,  why 
didn't  they  say  good  riddance,  and  let  it  go  at  that ;  or  why 
didn't  Priam  send  her  home.  She  would  suffer  enough  as 
a  consequence  of  her  own  action  anyway.  If  she  was 
entirely  innocent  and  did  not  want  to  go,  perhaps  they 
were  justified  in  going  to  any  length  to  release  her;  but 
after  that  was  effected  they  had  no  excuse  for  further 
action,  making  victims  of  innocent  and  helpless  women 
and  children,  had  they?* 

*Modern  militancy  (so  called)  pales  into  insignificance  be- 
fore it.  Some  speak  as  if  the  one  incident  of  English  mili- 

107 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Helen  of  Troy,  who  is  always  cited  as  an  example  of 
WOMAN'S  perfidy  and  destructive  influence,  probably 
"flirted"  with  Paris,  "in  a  perfectly  harmless  way,"  ex- 
posing her  person  and  using  every  means  she  was  allowed, 
and  encouraged  in,  to  captivate  him,  or  make  him  captive ; 
not  intending  to  go  too  far.  But  he  having  the  power, 
and  being  infatuated,  carried  her  off  against  her  will  and 
better  judgment,  thus  bringing  calamity  to  all;  fore- 
shadowing and  indicating  many,  many  individual  trage- 
dies of  the  same  order,  all  through  the  ages.  Troy  may 
stand  for  all  that  any  one  holds  dear,  and  its  siege  and 
final  catastrophe  mean  as  much  to  an  individual,  in  kind, 
as  to  a  nation.  It  stands  as  a  warning;  not  merely  an 
entertaining  and  wonderful  story. 

With  great  mental  disturbance  one  realizes  that  the 
young  of  all  nations  in  colleges  (men  especially  of  course) 
have  been  expected  to  read  without  comment  or  explana- 
tion, the  so-called  classics,  in  the  cause  of  culture.  In 
the  much  vaunted  Iliad  of  Homer,  the  plot  is  based  on 
a  personal  and  trivial  quarrel  between  two  young  men 
who  were  leaders  in  their  time.  As  usual  the  men  had 
been  fighting,  looting  and  raping;  they  seemed  to  live 
for  that  purpose  then  to  even  greater  extent  than  now,  in 
a  physical  way.  It  is  now  more  commercial.  Among  the 
prizes  of  war  there  were  two  especially  fine  young  women 
who,  as  was  (and  still  is)  the  hideous  custom  were 
handed  over  to  the  leaders ;  one — Chryseis  by  name,  was 

tant  women,  unselfishly  fighting  and  suffering  for  a  great 
principle,  and  injuring  (beside  themselves)  nothing  more  than 
a  few  luxuries,  were  the  only  ones  in  history,  and  should  be 
handed  down  to  present  ignominy,  and  the  scorn  of  posterity. 
The  history  of  all  reforms  thus  repeating  itself.  Blind,  Blind, 
Blind. 

108 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

the  daughter  of  a  priest  (or  minister),  who  later  came 
with  great  ransom  to  redeem  his  daughter,  but  was  re- 
fused by  the  hero,  Agamemnon ;  who  said  she  should  stay 
"to  serve  his  couch"  as  he  liked  her  even  better  than  he 
did  his  wedded  wife,  Klytaimnestra.  The  so-called 
"triangle"  is  nothing  new.  Later  the  gods  through  selfish 
intrigue  not  for  reasons  of  morality,  were  induced  to 
punish  the  Achaians  of  whom  Agamemnon  was  the 
chief.  He  gave  her  up,  but  said  he  would  take  away  the 
one — Briseis  by  name — who  had  been  given  to  Achilles; 
both  objected  but  ineffectually.  After  which  Achilles 
"sulked  in  his  tent"  and  would  not  play  (or  fight)  at  all 
as  is  well  known,  etc.,  etc.,  ad  nauseum. 

The  main  point  being  that  the  women — and  there  were 
many  fine,  intelligent  ones  among  them — were  only  con- 
sidered as  spoils  of  war;  and  one  inducement  to  fight 
given  to  the  men,  as  among  the  Huns  and  some  others 
today,  was  told  in  plain  words.  Each  was  to  lie  with  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  conquered  men — think  of  it.  Each 
man  knew  individually  that  it  was  wrong  and  resented  it 
if  applied  to  his  family,  but  generally  considered  it  was 
a  part  of  the  business  of  war  (which  is  acknowledged  to 
be  a  man's  game,  mind  you),  women  being  only  helpless 
pawns ;  as  the  men  had  and  have  kept  the  power.  Little 
wonder  then  when  we  consider  what  boys  have  had 
ingrained  in  their  natures  as  culture,  that  it  should  react 
to  the  present  terrible  conditions,  with  perhaps  worse  to 
come.  *See  page  no. 

In  spite  of  the  beauty  of  expression  the  subject  matter  is 
not  fit  to  read,  except  as  a  lesson  in  ethics ;  and  after  the 
lesson  is  learned  the  whole  could  well  be  discarded.  It 
looks  as  if  some  of  our  so  called  literature  of  which  men 

109 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

have  boasted  themselves  the  authors  might  indeed  be 
swept  away  with  much  of  our  so  called  civilization;  to 
good  advantage. 

Recently  a  noted  man  writer  has  observed  that  "Achilles 
in  his  tent  was  not  pondering  over  the  great  issues  of  the 
war,  he  was  sulking  over  a  private  (selfish  and  immoral) 
grievance ;  he  was  no  more  admirable  then  than  when  he 
was  dragging  the  dead  body  of  his  adversary  around  the 
walls  of  Troy  (simply  because  he  was  his  adversary  to 
the  horror  of  the  adversary's  mother,  family  and  friends). 
The  fact  was  that  in  spite  of  the  fable  of  his  admirers 
the  weak  spot  of  Achilles  was  his  head  not  his  heel." 

*In  the  Public  Schools  of  this  country,  where  women 
have  had  some  influence,  this  class  of  literature  has  been 
expurgated  so  that  the  younger  element  and  those  who  do 
not  go  to  college  are  saved  from  this  source  of  mental 
contagion.  The  "high  moral  sense  of  women"  is  certainly 
needed  at  this  juncture,  and  all  others,  even  as  Mr. 
Wilson  is  moved  to  remark.  After  the  disaster  is  upon 
us  it  is  rather  late  in  the  day  to  see  it,  but  there  may  still 
be  time  to  apply  the  old  adage  better  late  than  never; 
however  it  will  be  a  very  narrow  margin  as  we  are  at  the 
present  time  skating  on  thin  ice,  as  all  will  agree. 

One  might  imagine  that  the  "Blind  Bard"  intended  to 
call  attention  to  these  wrong  conditions,  as  he  opens  the 
account  with  these  words  : 

"Sing  Goddess,  the  wrath  of  Achilles,  Peleus'  son,  the 
ruinous  wrath  that  brought  on  the  Achaians  woes  in- 
numerable, and  hurled  down  into  Hades  many  strong 
souls  of  heroes,  and  gave  their  bodies  to  be  a  prey  to  dogs 
and  all  winged  fowls" ;  if  so  the  lesson  was  lost  in  the 
sublime  beauty  of  the  poet's  diction,  or  in  the  egotism  of 

*  See  page  109. 

no 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Info  One" 

man.  That  one  at  least  of  his  translators  caught  this 
message  is  evidenced  in  the  following  lines  which  go  to 
close  the  translation. 

"Above  the  din  of  slayers  and  of  slain 

And  diapason  of  the  War-gods'  cry; 

The  finer  ear  discerned  a  secret  strain, 
A  vision  pierced  to  the  diviner  eye; 

The  far  off  echo-  of  a  woman's  sigh, 

Weakness  made  perfect  unto  strength  in  pain." 

In  a  "classic  manual"  we  read:  "Juno,  Queen  of  all 
the  gods,  noted  for  her  jealousy,  and  severity  to  the 
illegitimate  children  of  Jupiter."  Evidently  the  poor 
thing  did  not  have  even  the  alternative  of  enforced  di- 
vorce. Jupiter's  stated  promiscuous  performances  can 
but  have  had  bad  effects  on  all  who  have  studied  the 
history  of  his  time.  Why  should  our  young  people  give 
precious  time  to  such  indecent  drivel,  to  their  harm.  If 
men  have  thus  allowed  the  "wells  of  thought"  to  be 
poisoned  and  polluted ;  probably  the  Huns  have  only  been 
giving  us  a  needed  object  lesson  as  to  what  that  means  in 
an  individual  and  colossal  way.  We  would  not  learn 
otherwise.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  correct  conclusions 
will  be  drawn,  and  our  practise  improved. 

The  Japanese  idea  of  poetry ;  which  must  be  poetic  in 
idea  as  well  as  language,  is  higher  than  ours ;  the)  do  not 
consider  war  nor  lust  as  coming  within  its  province. 

It  is  true  that  in  many  if  not  all,  Oriental  countries 
there  is  a  dialect  which  is  used  only  by  women,  and  which 
often  the  men  do  not  understand.  In  Japan,  poetry  "the 
highest  expression  of  thought"  (see  dictionary)  is  written 
in  this  "female  language."  Evidently  there  is  in  English 
such  a  language  which  comparatively  few  men  seem  to 

in 


Taking  ''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

comprehend,  and  men  being  in  power  this  expression 
(symbolically  speaking,  "poetical  creative  ideas")  is 
suppressed  by  ridicule,  and  other  effective  methods.  Be- 
cause the  men,  who  think  they  know  all  there  is  to  be 
known,  cannot  understand  them,  women  are  called 
illogical  and  emotional — a  mystery — and  the  majority  of 
them  ask,  what  it  is  the  women  want ;  we  want  them  to 
have  it,  but  we  do  not  know  what  they  are  talking  about. 
It  is  said  there  are  "none  so  blind  as  those  who  will  not 
see." 

Mr.  H.  G.  Wells  in  a  world  famous  story  makes 
the  elderly  English  "hero"  of  this  book  say  to  a  young 
American  man  (who  is  then  "in  love"  with  a  young 
English  woman)  "You  only  know  what  love  is  when  your 
son  is  grown;  men  and  women  do  not  love  each  other; 
marriage  is  only  give  and  take."  Think  of  that!  He 
treats  his  grown  son  with  respect  because  he  is  getting  to 
be  a  man  and  can  get  back  at  him,  and  has  gone  to  war ; 
he  would  have  us  believe  that  he  has  a  vague  romance 
connected  with  his  first  wife  who  died  young  and  was 
the  mother  of  this  son;  presumably  a  case  of  distance 
making  the  heart  grow  fonder:  because  his  present 
wife — the  mother  of  some  more  of  his  children — who  has 
money  and  is  helping  to  support  them — the  family — (at 
the  same  time  typing  and  arranging  the  matter  for  his 
books)  he  treats  consciously  as  he  would  his  dog  (as  he 
does  her  young  children)  because  he  knows  she  is  helpless. 
He  is  satisfied  with  the  situation  and  judges  others  by  him- 
self. Egotism  gone  to  seed.  Then  Mr.  Wells,  thinking 
he  has  discovered  something  because  it  is  new  to  him 
piously  and  vaguely  tells  us  we  must  "look  up  and  find 
Him."  He  does  not  seem  to  sense  that  that  is  the  very 

112 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One 

thing  most  of  us — Americans  at  least — have  for  long  been 
trying  to  do.  (Someone  has  suggested  that  he  might  have 
learned  this  at  his  mother's  knee.)  He  gives  no  definite 
directions  and  might  probably  be  moved  to  mirth  and 
scorn  at  hearing  the  same  words  used  in  church,  and  at 
religious  revivals,  where  they  have  been  used  since  the 
beginning  of  time.  And  all  this  from  the  man  who  wrote 
"Ann  Veronica !"  and  whom  part  of  the  world  at  present 
delights  to  honor  and  accept  as  a  teacher.  In  his  later 
books  Mr.  Wells  recognizes  a  calm,  high,  and  helpful 
comradeship  between  husband  and  wife,  and  he  sees  that 
"something  should  be  done  for  women  and  children"; 
even  though  his  ideas  of  what  is  to  be  done  and  how  to  do 
it,  are  as  nebulous  as  his  religious  theories ;  yet  we  gladly 
give  him  credit  for  meaning  well,  and  for  starting  in  the 
right  direction.  He  is  certainly  making  a  whale-like 
struggle  to  see  through  it,  as  well  as  to  "see  it  through," 
and  doubtless  he  will  succeed,  and  be  a  power  for  good. 
One  thankfully  recognizes  his  ability,  sincerity,  and  good 
intention. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OUR  good  Quaker  poet,  Whittier,  never  married 
though  he  had  the  highest  regard  for  woman. 
His  work  and  sacrifice  in  the  cause  of  Slavery 
are  well  known.     Whittier  could  tell  you  of  the  awful 
opposition  with  fire  and  sword,  tar  and  feathers,  met  by 
those  who  espoused  the  cause  of  Freedom  in  his  day; 
and  you  could  see  in  this  the  fate  of  all  reformers  and 
know  by  the  venomous  spirit  of  those  opposing  freedom 
for  woman  that  fanaticism  and  persecution  are  not  things 
of  the  past. 

The  assertion  that  bachelor  maids  are  preeminently, 
or  the  only,  disappointed  and  unsatisfied  ones  of  the 
earth,  has  been  refuted  many  times.  It  is  the  last  strug- 
gle to  keep  unmarried  women  in  the  "old  maid"  class 
of  the  past.  The  fact  is  that  they  are  quite  as  likely  to 
live  and  die  comfortably  as  are  others.  Anywhere  among 
our  acquaintances  we  may  see  widowed  parents  of  either 
sex  who  have  no  living  or  creditable  children,  or  who  are 
not  happy  with  their  living  children,  who  in  turn  often 
consider  them  a  burden.  They  seem  not  to  have  much 
in  common  with  younger  persons,  and  are  set  one  side, 
ignored,  neglected,  or  disrespectfully  treated.  Of  course, 
there  are  many  shining  exceptions  in  both  classes.  That 
there  is  important  work  for  the  unmarried  that  no  one 
else  can  do  we  have  seen  proven  over  and  over  again. 
Except  for  their  work,  women  and  children  as  a  class 
would  have  less  chance  for  life  and  liberty  than  they  do 
now,  as  is  well  known. 

114 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

None  could  follow  a  safer  example  than  the  life  of 
Jesus.  In  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  the  unmarried 
ones,  as  monks  and  nuns,  were  set  apart  as  especially 
holy  and  as  following  more  closely  the  life  of  Jesus  and 
the  teaching  of  St.  Paul.  Some  of  them,  being  human, 
doubtless  fell  far  below  the  standard  set,  though  many 
have  been  and  are  saints.  The  word  "virgin"  applied 
to  man;  woman,  and  also  to  things  in  the  neuter  gender, 
as  forests,  etc.,  means  pure,  undefiled.  Then  what  would 
the  unvirgin  (or  married)  state  stand  for.  Answer  this 
question  for  yourself. 

The  bachelor  maid  and  man  have  done  and  are  doing 
good  work;  that  is  the  main  thing.  The  fact  that  some 
are  unaware  of  this,  is  it  not  due  to  the  false,  artificial 
standards  which  have  been  blindly  erected  for  us  ?  This 
is  not  saying  that  they  may  not,  in  time,  find  a  real  mate 
and  thus  be  happier  and  more  useful  than  they  were 
unmarried  or  if  they  had  married  in  haste  at  an  earlier 
day. 

In  Tennyson's  Princess,  "Ida"   (a  bachelor  maid)   is 
conscious  that  women  as  a  class,  not  the  individual,  is 
given  a  certain  place  in  the  thought  of  men.     She  sums 
it  up  thus :"....    yet  I  blame  you  not  so  much  for 
fear:   Six  thousand  years  of  fear  have  made  you  that 
from  which  I  would  redeem  you   .    .   .   household  stuff, 
Live  chattels,  mincers  of  each  other's  fame. 
Full  of  weak  poison,  turnspits  for  the  clown. 
The  drunkard's  football,  laughing  stocks  of  Time, 
Whose  brains  are  in  their  hands  and  in  their  heels, 
But  fit  to  flaunt,  to  dress,  to  dance,  to  thrum, 
To  tramp,  to  scream,  to  burnish,  and  to  scour, 
Forever  slaves  at  home  and  fools  abroad." 

iiS 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

The  picture  is  well  (perhaps  over)  drawn.  We  recog- 
nize the  reputation  borne  by  woman  in  the  past,  and  also 
that  there  is  much  of  truth  in  it;  which  should  not  be. 
From  this  state  Ida  desires  to  lift  woman,  with  an  in- 
tensity and  understanding,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
average  mind.  According  to  the  poet,  she  thinks  she 
has  failed  because  she  sees  no  immediate  result.  In  this 
respect  is  the  character  a  consistent  one  ?  The  poet  sees 
that  she  is  a  "Princess."  The  Prince  also  recognizes  the 
quality ;  he  wants  and  will  have  no  one  else.  Recognizing 
a  mate  in  the  strong  woman,  he  yet  scarcely  sees  or  dares 
to  acknowledge  where  lies  the  attraction.  We  are  given 
much  of  all  this  in  the  statement  of  the  Prince.  Perhaps 
we  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  it  entire,  as  made  in 
answer  to  Ida's  misgivings  : 

"Blame  not  thyself  too  much    .     .     .     nor  blame 
Too  much  the  sons  of  men  and  barbarous  laws; 
These  were  the  rough  ways  of  the  world  till  now. 
Henceforth  thou  hast  a  helper,  me,  that  knows 
The  woman's  cause  is  man's;  they  rise  or  sink 
Together,  dwarfed  or  Godlike,  bond  or  free; 
For  she  that  out  of  Lethe  scales  with  man 
The  shining  steps  of  Nature,  shares  with  man 
His  nights,  his  days,  moves  with  him  to  one  goal, 
Stays  all  the  fair  young  planet  in  her  hands — 
//  she  be  small,  slight-natured,  miserable, 
How  shall  men  grow?  but  work  no  more  alone! 
Our  place  is  much;  as  far  as  in  us  lies 
We  two  will  serve  them  both  in  aiding  her — 
Will  clear  away  the  parasitic  forms 
That  seem  to  keep  her  up  but  drag  her  down — 
Will  leave  her  space  to  burgeon  out  of  all 

116 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Within  her — let  her  make  herself  her  own 

To  give  or  keep,  to  live  and  learn  to  be 

All  that  not  harms  distinctive  womanhood. 

For  woman  is  not  undevelopt  man, 

But  diverse:  could  we  make  her  as  the  man, 

Sweet  love  were  slain;  his  dearest  bond  is  this, 

Not  like  to  like,  but  like  in  difference 

Yet  in  the  long,  years  liker  must  they  grow; 

The  man  be  more  of  woman,  she  of  man: 

He  gain  in  sweetness  and  in  moral  heiaht. 

Nor  lose  the  wrestling  thews  that  throw  the  world; 

She  mental  breadth,  nor  fail  in  childward  care, 

Nor  lose  the  childlike  in  the  larger  mind; 

Till  at  the  last  she  set  herself  to  man, 

Like  perfect  music  unto  noble  words; 

And  so  these  twain,  upon  the  skirts  of  Time, 

Sit  side  by  side,  full  summ'd  in  all  their  powers, 

Dispensing  harvest,  sowing  the — To-be, 

Self-reverent  each  and  reverencing  each, 

Distinct  in  individualities, 

But  like  each  other,  even  as  those  who  love. 

Then  comes  the  statelier  Eden  back  to  men: 

Then  reign  the  world's  great  bridals,  chaste  and  calm. 

Then  springs  the  crowning  race  of  humankind." 

.     .     .     "O  we  will  walk  this  world, 
Yoked  in  all  exercise  of  noble  end, 
And  so  through  those  dark  gates  across  the  wild 
That  no  man  knows.    Indeed  I  love  thee:  come, 
Yield  thyself  up:  my  hopes  and  thine  are  one: 
Accomplish  thou  my  manhood  and  thyself; 
Lay  thy  sweet  hands  in  mine  and  trust  to  me." 

117 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

However,  he  does  not  give  the  process,  and  is  his  vision 
complete?  "She"  (the  feminine  principle)  can  trust 
to  "him"  (the  masculine  principle)  in  material  things, 
and  must  he  not  also  trust  to  her  in  spiritual  ways? 

I  must  bespeak  fair  dealing  in  this  attempt  to  put  new 
ideas  into  the  old  forms  of  expression.  The  uncertain 
experiment  of  putting  new  wine  into  old  bottles  is  in 
some  respects  analogous ;  it  is  sometimes  a  forced  neces- 
sity. Let  only  those  who  have  conscientiously  tried  it 
offer  shallow  criticism. 

The  desire  of  the  woman  is  for  the  love  (not  the  lust) 
of  the  man.  Can't  you  see  it?  She  has  been  allowed 
by  mortal  man  himself  only  one  way  of  obtaining  it,  an 
unsafe,  precarious  way,  and  repugnant  to  her;  but  one 
way  or  another,  she  is  bound  to  drag  him  through;  till 
he  at  last  is  also  free  (from  lust  and  death  they  go 
together)  through  knowing  the  truth  in  regard  to  it,  as 
Jesus  said.  Through  all  this  women  are  said  by  some 
to  be  oversexed  (what  about  men — Cossacks,  Huns, 
Turks,  Bulgarians,  White  Slave  supporters,  etc.),  while 
the  reason  for  the  condition  is  overlooked  and  the 
remedy,  chaste  manhood,  unseen.  The  false  hypnotic 
affirmation,  "We  know  that  a  bad  woman  is  worse  than  a 
bad  man"  is  as  easily  refuted  as  it  is  false ;  how  could  any- 
thing be  worse  than  the  atrocities  some  men  are  now,  and 
have  been  committing  all  through  the  ages.  It  is  physical- 
ly impossible  for  a  woman  to  force  herself  upon  a  man,  or 
a  child  ( See  pages  77  and  45  )  or  to  be  as  bad  as  a  man  can 
be,  even  if  they  wanted  to,  which  they  do  not.  The  inci- 
dents of  the  few  seeming  exceptions  (of  creatures  who 
were  only  slaves  to  their  men)  have  long  been  much  over- 
worked; they  should  be  discarded  at  once,  with  other 

118 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

vapid  falsities  of  their  kind — libels  on  mothers-in-law,  and 
jokes  on  drunken  husbands  reacting  to  ridicule  of  the 
wife,  etc.,  which  have  already  done  incalculable  harm 
and  merit  a  stern  and  immediate  rebuke.* 

Persons  who  make  these  affirmations  should  be  forced, 
in  all  fairness,  to  give  authentic  instances  and  their 
authority;  mere  statements  are  not  longer  to  be  accepted 
as  proof  in  affairs  of  such  moment. 

Orders  have  recently  been  received  that  no  "jokes"  of 
this  kind  (i.  e.,  on  women,  the  word  God  used  carelessly, 
drunkenness)  shall  be  found  in  the  plays  given  for  the 
men  at  the  front,  as  they  are  seen  to  be  distinctly  harm- 
ful to  their  morale,  as  are  vicious  resorts  of  all  kinds ; 
that  it  needed  war  conditions  to  prove  this  true  shows 
how  illogical  we  have  been.  They  were  always  just  as 
harmful  as  they  are  now,  and  should  have  been  censored 
out  long  ago  for  the  sake  of  women  especially;  but  men 
are  in  power  and  until  they  are  seen  to  be  harmed  as 
soldiers  whom  we  need  to  protect  our  precious  lives,  no 
change  has  been  made ;  and  even  now  a  higher  morality, 
as  an  imperative  reason  for  this  change,  seems  to  be 
ignored.  A  terrific  way  in  which  to  learn  lessons;  and 
there  are  many  more  such  to  be  learned ;  must  they  still 
be  learned  through  sad  and  hard  experience  instead  of 
through  a  spirit  of  decency,  justice,  and  fairness  ex- 
pressed, which  would  save  humanity  much  suffering.  In 
a  properly  chastened  spirit,  it  becomes  each  one  of  us  to 
take  this  up;  no  one  is  blameless  or  holier  than  another 
when  such  conditions  exist. 

What  must  we  think  of  ourselves  individually  and  as  a 
nation,  when  we  may  read  in  any  daily  paper  of  cases 

*  See  Appendix  D,  page  202. 

119 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

where  women  and  young  girls  (mere  children,  perhaps) 
are  assaulted  and  fright-fully  mistreated  by  brutes  of  men. 
The  women  and  children  are  placed  in  hospitals  for 
partial  recovery ;  the  men  are  allowed  to  go  free,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  except  in  the  comparatively  infrequent  cases 
where  the  assailant  is  a  negro,  or  is  even  suspected  of 
being  one;  when  another  unspeakable  crime  against 
nature  is  committed. 

While  it  is  possible  for  one  woman  or  child  to  be 
assaulted  we  are  none  of  us  safe  or  guiltless,  men  or 
women,  nor  should  we  be.  Yet  this  thing  is  allowed 
among  us  in  increasing  numbers,  and  only  a  small  minor- 
ity are  at  all  aroused  or  disturbed.  One  wonders  how  the 
responsible  men  reason  in  such  cases ;  perhaps  something 
like  this :  this  thing  does  not  often  kill  a  woman  or  child, 
they  can  live  and  go  on  with  life  after  a  fashion,  and 
anyway  it  is  not  our  own  women  and  children  as  yet  who 
are  thus  abused;  the  thing  is  a  common  occurrence,  and 
even  sin  has  its  necessities  (a  satanic  lie)  they  do  not 
apparently  consider  the  moral  and  physical  shock  to  the 
victim,  from  which  she  can  never  recover;  that  does  not 
even  occur  to  them,  and  if  it  does  it  is  put  aside  as  of 
little  consequence,  as  even  fiends  must  be  indulged  if  they 
are  men.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  declare,  and  it  is  an  evident 
truth,  that  the  whole  thing  must  be  cut  out.  Such 
atrocities  cannot  be  permitted  or  condoned.  Not  long  ago 
a  man  in  England  for  assaulting  his  two  and  a  half  year 
old  daughter,  who  was  taken  to  a  hospital,  was  sentenced 
to  three  months'  imprisonment,  for  indecent  assault — 
think  of  it ! 

In  England  they  have  homes  for  fallen  children,  while 
the  grown  men  who  are  responsible  for  their  condition 

120 


11  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

are  free,  are  not  blamed,  and  have  no  stigma  even 
attached  to  their  names.  These  helpless  children  have 
all  that  to  face,  and  to  bear.  Words  are  inadequate. 

In  one  issue  of  a  reputable  paper  one  sees  a  picture  of 
two  husky  young  women  with  abbreviated  one  piece 
bathing  suits,  gay  caps  and  high  heeled  shoes,  walking 
down  the  street  of  a  city,  to  their  bath.  The  comments 
of  the  reporter  are 'somewhat  cynical,  still  he  says,  they 
were  followed  by  a  crowd  of  interested  spectators  (pre- 
sumably men).  In  the  next  column  of  the  same  paper 
is  an  account  of  two  women  being  kidnapped  that  same 
night  in  a  most  brutal  way ;  one  escaped  with  her  clothes 
literally  torn  off  her  and  the  other  had  to  be  taken  to  the 
hospital — no  comment  even,  in  this  case.  Can  you  not 
see  the  connection?  The  men  of  the  second  case  may 
easily  have  seen  the  women  of  the  first  case,  and  been 
inflamed  to  their  brutality  by  it;  and  if  not  by  them 
then  by  some  other  silly  woman.  The  same  thing  happens 
among  people  of  higher  class  to  a  certain  degree  through 
the  exposure  of  women  of  small  understanding. 

In  the  paper  referred  to  above  the  following  item 
appears :  "Ho  Kilties,  for  economy's  sake  women's  stock- 
ings are  to  be  made  shorter,  and  with  the  present  tendency 
to  shorter  skirts  interesting  developments  may  be  ex- 
pected" (through  snooping  we  infer).  What  is  the 
reason  we  do  not  connect  these  circumstances?  Do  not 
men  who  are  in  power  through  applause  and  expressed 
interest  encourage  women  to  do  these  things,  and  are  not 
the  mistaught  women  in  the  end  the  worst  sufferers? 
When  you  know  the  truth  about  anything,  it  does  free 
you  from  error  in  regard  to  that  thing,  as  anyone  can  see. 


121 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

Bartholdi  symbolizes  freedom  by  a  "woman  enlighten- 
ing the  world."  Do  you  think  he  means  a  material  ap- 
pearance of  freedom,  which  is  the  worst  kind  of  bondage, 
as  anyone  who  looks  about  him  and  is  honest  must  ac- 
knowledge. Someone  has  called  this  statue  a  monument 
to  the  Pilgrim  mothers,  who  have  heretofore  been  un- 
recognized in  this  way.  Let  us  hasten  to  free  and  com- 
prehend  the  feminine  thought  ere  it  is  too  late  to  save 
our  girls  from  the  fate  which  has  already  overtaken  our 
boys  in  a  man  controlled  world;  the  fate  of  too  much 
physical  knowing,  which  unless  checked  is  likely  to,  and 
would  engulf  us,  but  for  a  strong  and  effective  counter 
current,  which  has  already  set  in  and  into  which  all  who 
are  really  desirous  to  better  conditions  will  be  drawn; 
thus  strengthening  and  making  it  resistless  for  the  rest. 
We  are  certainly  arriving. 

Woman  has  tried  to  cultivate  a  tendency  toward  pas- 
sion from  a  mistaken  sense  of  duty  to  man's  desire,  but 
it  is  far  from  inherent  in  her  nature,  as  ordinary  observa- 
tion will  show.  The  real  desire  of  the  woman  is  for  love, 
and  beautiful  things,  and  to  bring  forth  offspring  without 
any  physical  aid,  and  it  will  succeed  if  left  to  itself.  We 
are,  perhaps,  seeing  the  dawn  of  distant  ideas,  and  there 
is  much  that  is  encouraging.  As  an  indication  we  see 
that  the  mother  of  Jesus  changed  the  human  law  and  its 
method  of  generating,  proving  God  to  be  the  Father  of 
man.  Melchisideck,  King  of  Salem,  to  whom  Abraham 
paid  tribute,  was  without  father  or  mother,  beginning  of 
days  or  end  of  years. 

"Human  nature  has  bestowed  on  the  wife  the  right 
to  become  a  mother;  but  if  the  wife  esteems  not  this 
privilege,  by  mutual  consent,  exalted  and  increased  af- 

122 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

fections,  she  may  win  a  higher."  (S.  and  H.)  Saints 
Ursula  and  Cecelia  are  both  said  to  have  converted  their 
husbands  to  their  belief  in  absolute  chastity.  But  is  the 
average  man  willing  to  listen  ?  There  are  many  indications 
that  he  is  not.  A  noted  early  English  woman  writer  says : 
"Woman  does  not  want  dominion  but  equality  and  friend- 
ship." "We  do  not  wish  to  control  men  but  to  control 
ourselves."  George  Eliot  found  in  G.  H.  Lewes  the  rare 
quality  of  willingness  to  talk  things  over — a  great  ad- 
vantage. "Come,  let  us  reason  together,  is  all  that  woman 
has  ever  asked  of  man."  An  ancient  epitaph  seen  in 
the  Roman  Forum,  erected  by  a  husband  to  his  wife, 
"who  never  disagreed  with  him"  (someone  asked,  which 
was  weak  minded),  I  fancy  is  generally  called  to  atten- 
tion as  a  model,  by  the  man  lecturer.  The  book  of 
Egotism  again.  Upon  seeing  it,  one  is  moved  to  imagine 
that  one  or  the  other  was  pretty  well  suppressed — 
probably  the  wife,  and  she  may  have  died  young.  Prob- 
ably if  she  disagreed  with  him  and  tried  to  talk  things 
over,  he  would  call  it  "nagging,"  and  that  is  an  ex- 
tinguisher. "Some  said  it  was  a  voice  from  Heaven,  some 
said  it  thundered,"  just  a  little  difference  in  the  view- 
point. 

In  George  Meredith's  "The  Egoist,"  Sir  W.  Patterne 
stands  for  a  type  of  moral  man  who,  as  what  he  wants 
is  not  wrong,  cannot  see  why  everyone  else  should  not 
do  as  he  wishes,  not  seeing  that  others  might  have  right 
desires  independent  of  his.  His  idea  of  a  discussion  is 
to  deliver  himself  and  then  walk  off  without  hearing 
what  any  one  else  may  wish  to  say.  Naturally  his  under- 
standing is  limited,  and  his  experiences  startling.  Our 
charming  and  lamented  C.  D.  Warner  says:  "There  is 


123 


Taking  ''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

no  denying  the  fact  that  man  is  an  unmitigated  boss. 
Each  woman  sees  this,  though  she  regards  her  particular 
tyrant  with  tenderness  and  circumvents  him  in  an  under- 
handed way  at  times,  if  you  choose,  of  necessity,  not 
because  she  likes  it."  Abigail  Adams,  whose  reputation 
for  intelligence,  efficiency  and  a  good  sense  of  justice,  is 
beyond  criticism,  wrote  her  husband,  John  Adams, 
"That  your  sex  are  naturally  tyrannical  is  a  truth  so  thor- 
oughly established  as  to  admit  of  no  dispute,"  "she  urges 
such  an  adjustment  of  law  as  may  check  that  tyranny"; 
this  is  quoted  by  a  man  writer  in  a  noted  magazine  as,  "a 
dignified  and,  energetic  protest  against  the  subjection  of 
women  in  that  day;  which  has  been  often  quoted  and 
justly  praised."  The  cult  of  Nietzsche's  followers  sub- 
scribes to  the  insane  vagary  that  the  family  exists  as 
a  monarchy,  solely  that  men — the  male  half  of  man- 
kind— may  be  monarchs.  Let  them  try  to  tyrannize  over 
son  or  daughter,  even  of  tender  years,  in  this  country, 
and  see  what  becomes  of  their  theory :  even  the  wife,  in 
many  cases,  is  no  longer  in  their  power.  It  all  helps  to 
show  that  woman  has  been  morally  forced  to  suppress 
herself,  trying  to  satisfy  man — her  self-constituted 
master.  Trying  to  be  what  he  thinks  he  wants :  she  is 
neither  one  nor  the  other,  hence  man  calls  her  a  mystery. 
He  will  not  allow  her  to  be  herself :  she  must  be  ruled  and 
guided  by  infallibility  in  the  guise  of  man  (who  is  no 
mystery)  ;  and  so  through  his  own  fault  (mortal)  man 
has  never  seen  the  woman  he  really  wants.  No  wonder 
"Mona  Lisa"  smiles. 

The  Swiss  Schuplatter  dance  tells  perhaps  the  national 
and  worldwide  story  of  the  average  mortal  woman's  posi- 
tion and  the  indignities  forced  upon  her:  the  lover 

124 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

dances  with  his  "girl,"  growing  more  and  more  excited 
and  suggestive,  finally  trying  to  kiss  her.  She  shows 
displeasure  and  even  slaps  his  face  smartly ;  he  perseveres 
and  if  she  does  not  yield  to  his  advances,  he  leaves  her 
and  dances  with  "the  other  woman,"  who  is  always 
pathetically  waiting  his  beck  and  call ;  so  there  is  no  way 
for  the  first  girl  but  to  yield  or  lose  her  lover  (just  as 
the  second  girl  will  do  in  time).  The  man  in  the  dance 
takes  full  advantage — a  whole  commentary. 

The  author  of  "The  Blindness  of  Virtue"  sees  some 
things  up  to  a  certain  point  and  does  very  well  for  a  man ; 
but  the  woman's  viewpoint  is  left  out,  and  not  even  con- 
sidered. That,  as  per  this  widely  advertised  play,  a 
decently  brought  up  young  girl,  or  any  woman,  should 
be  shown  as  going  into  a  strange  man's  bedroom,  in  sleep- 
ing negligee  at  any  time  is  inconceivable  to  the  normal 
American  woman.  That  she  could  give  no  reason  why 
she  should  not,  is  distinctly  natural  and  normal.  The 
girl  had  no  idea  of  what  was  in  the  young  man's  mind; 
and  for  her  mother  or  any  one  to  give  her  an  idea  in  one 
evening's  talk,  without  shocking  her  and  perhaps  per- 
verting her  mind,  would  be  impossible.  No  husbandly 
command  could  make  it  otherwise.  The  mother  and 
daughter  knew  that.  Typically  womanlike,  the  wife  es- 
sayed the  impossible,  only  to  be  blamed  and  treated  like 
a  naughty  child.  Instinctively  both  shrank  from  it  as  from 
a  serpent,  which  it  is.  It  is  easy  enough  to  blame  the 
woman,  mother  and  daughter ;  but  the  truth  is  that  it  was 
the  boy's  father  (who  did  not  attempt  to  understand  his 
son  or  even  excuse  himself  for  not  doing  so)  and  all 
fathers  (and  mothers)  who  should  teach  the  boys  self- 

125 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

control,  and  the  beauty  and  strength  which  come  from 
that  condition. 

At  the  situation  in  the  play  to  which  this  all  leads 
up  the  audience  laughs,  considering  it  a  comedy,  which 
must  be  far  from  the  intention  of  the  author,  who  is 
presenting  it  as  a  near  tragedy  and  a  situation  to  be 
avoided;  which  it  is.  It  makes  a  very  unsafe  situation 
appear  attractive,  and  with  normal  ending,  which  might 
easily  suggest  to  and  encourage  other  girls  of  this  type, 
or  stronger  (expecting  it  to  turn  out  well  some  way)  to 
do  likewise;  the  very  thing  the  author  wishes  to  avoid, 
as  in  real  life  it  is  not  at  all  likely  to  turn  out  well,  even 
in  individual  cases,  and  is  a  very  unsafe  general  precedent. 
Why  ?  Because  the  boy  is  the  victim  of  unnatural  knowl- 
edge, not  because  the  girl  is  ignorant  of  such  knowledge. 
We  know  that  ignorance  of  wrong  is  right.  We  should 
not  know  experimental  evil  at  all,  any  of  us,  boys  or 
girls,  men  or  women;  and  it  (evil)  must  be  eradicated. 
The  girl  should  not  know  more  evil,  but  the  boy  less; 
reversing  the  testimony  of  our  human  lack  of  under- 
standing. A  startling  thought  it  is  that  men  are  prone  to 
say  of  a  young  man  who  is  living  a  careless  or  loose  life, 
"Oh,  he  must  sow  his  wild  oats,"  when  they  know  that  he 
must  reap  what  he  sows,  sooner  or  later;  that  other  in- 
nocent ones  are  largely  implicated  in  the  reaping,  and  that 
to  human  thought  he  can  never  be  normal  again.  Why 
should  such  a  so-called  "process  of  thought"  be  called 
thinking?  Boys  and  girls  when  told  no  harm  comes, 
should  not  believe  it.  They  lose  self-respect,  if  no  more, 
even  though  they  do  not  realize  it ;  and  that  is  a  terrible 
thing. 

126 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

We  do  not  tell  our  boys  that  strong  drink,  opium, 
cocaine,  obscene  stories,  are  necessities  of  their  nature; 
why  should  they  not  be  warned  severely  against  that 
which  is  worse  than  any  of  these  in  its  results  to  them, 
as  well  as  the  girls.  Appetite  certainly  grows  by  what 
it  feeds  on.  They  should  not  be  encouraged  to  even 
consider  it,  realizing  that  it  should  only  be  made  use  of 
when  results  are  desired,  and  should  be  thoroughly  con- 
served— conservation  of  forces  is  in  the  air  now  and 
this  is  surely  a  most  important  force.  It  will  be  found 
that  anti-tuberculosis,  and  anti  everything  else  bad,  so- 
cieties must  begin  right  here.  Judge  Owen  says  that 
immorality  is  the  cause  of  most  of  the  insanity.  The 
thought  regarding  it  should  be  corrected,  then  the  practice 
will  improve.  You  can  see  that  if  the  boy  "knew"  as 
little  as  the  girl,  there  would  be  no  such  wretched  problem 
to  contend  with,  a  great  gain,  as  any  one  must  see.  Ac- 
cording to  reports  the  children  know  too  much  already, 
in  some  directions;  yet  we  want  to  teach  them  more  of 
the  same.  Where  there  is  so  much  talk  of  pure  food 
laws,  should  we  not  look  for  pure  food  for  thought  also ; 
and  that  constructively. 

Our  first  parents  were  warned  against  eating  of  the 
Tree  of  Knowledge  of  Good  and  Evil,  or  physical,  sensual, 
experimental  evil.  Why  do  we  not  heed  the  warning, 
even  at  this  late  day?  Better  late  than  never,  but  let 
us  not  delay  longer.  It  is  the  serpent  in  our  Eden  and  as 
of  old  it  drives  us  out  of  Eden.  It  is,  must  be,  the  cause 
of  a  regretted  change  of  expression  said  to  be  observed  to 
come  to  the  faces  of  young  people  between  the  ages  of 
fourteen  and  eighteen.  We  should  tell  them,  in  the  right 
way,  you  say ;  who  knows  the  right  way — is  there  a  right 

127 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

way  to  tell  a  wrong  thing?  Surely  we  should  tell  the 
truth  and  shame  the  devil,  but  we  must  first  be  sure  we 
are  telling  the  truth,  not  a  mere  human  opinion  which  will 
be  entirely  changed  in  a  decade  or  so.*  That  there  is  a 
wide  difference  of  opinion  on  this  subject  among  students 
of  conditions  is  well  known.  If  every  man  spoke  only 
"truth  to  his  neighbor,"  there  would  be  some  quiet 
seasons  and  a  better  chance  for  improvement  than  we 
now  seem  to  have.  The  author  of  the  play  referred  to 
is  quoted  as  saying,  rightly,  that  we  should  not  draw 
illustrations  from  the  animals  in  regard  to  the  ideas 
spoken  of  (really,  though,  in  some  ways  the  animals  show 
more  reason  than  Adam).  That  he  has  a  high  apprecia- 
tion of  women  one  recognizes  with  gratitude.  He  makes 
the  interesting  maid,  in  the  play,  say  to  the  mistress, 
"You  and  me  eats  to  live."  The  so-called  pleasures  of 
the  senses  do  not  appeal  to  the  normal  woman  very 
greatly. 

How  any  but  an  abnormal  mind  could  see  "Romance" 
in  the  play  of  that  name,  which  had  an  abnormal  run 
and  patronage  in  one  of  our  cities  recently,  is  hard  to 
discover,  and  shows  a  vapid  state  of  public  conscience 
which  is  certainly  deplorable.  That  a  fine  young  minister, 
who  was  strong  enough  to  later  become  a  Bishop,  as  well 
as  a  husband  and  father,  should  be  represented  (in  his 
old  age,  a  grandfather)  as  mooning  with  approval  all 
his  life  over  his  early  willingness,  his  regret  and  determi- 
nation to  wreck  his  life  and  career  by  marrying  a  silly, 
ignorant,  jealous,  narrow-minded  foreign  actress  and 
singer  with  an  unfortunate  past,  who  rejected  him  after 

*  When  advocating  and  supporting  arbitrary  hygienic  lectures 
and  medical  examination,  we  must  consider  that  "The  child  is 
sent  to  school  to  be  educated  not  medicated"  and  that  "It  is  the 
school  which  is  public,  not  the  child." 

128 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

being  allowed  to  work  her  wiles  to  his  near  ruin,  is  a 
libel  on  Truth.  Can  you  fancy  anything  more  impossible 
and  inconsistent  in  the  line  of  character  development? 
The  wife,  family,  and  congregation  of  such  a  man  were 
surely  to  be  pitied.  But  they  were  of  little  account  in 
such  a  play.  His  grandson  was  approved  in  the  play 
for  carrying  out  the  idea  of  marrying  an  actress,  who 
might  be  all  right  surely;  but  one  would  need  to  see  the 
outcome,  in  order  to  be  at  all  sure  that  it  was  ideal.  The 
object  of  the  play  was  evidently,  like  some  others  of  the 
day,  to  defend  actresses  against  hypothetical  criticism, 
but  it  fell  far  short  of  such  accomplishment,  though  it 
might  easily  have  had  a  harmful  effect  on  its  hearers. 
Reviews  of  this  play,  when  it  was  given  in  Stockholm, 
were  as  follows,  in  Swedish  papers:  a  "Cash  Box  Piece 
showing  what  is  required  to  be  a  successful  dramatist  in 
dollar  land."  "The  play  lacks  taste  and  shows  an  absence 
of  fine  feeling;  possesses  all  the  tricks  which  can  attract 
an  uncultivated  public,  adding  that  the  character  of  the 
clergyman  (Armstrong)  in  his  "double  role  of  evangelist 
and  seducer"  is  a  little  too  strong  for  any  but  the  Yankee 
public's  nerves";  "when  one  remembers  how  many  fear- 
ful stupidities  he  must  have  committed  during  the  half 
century  between  the  first  half  act  and  the  epilogue,  one 
regrets  that  he  was  not  killed  in  time  by  one  of  his  name- 
sake's guns."  "It  shows  the  Yankee's  primitive  com- 
prehension of  aesthetic  feeling;  as  literature  it  is  totally 
valueless."  "A  machine  made  American  play,  a  goulash 
of  pipe-organs  and  passion,  monkeys  and  macaroni,  toilets 
and  revolvers,  kisses  and  monkey  tricks;  long  live  the 
monkey  drama."  One  could  add  the  hectic,  massage- 
like  "love  making";  that  the  monkey  was  the  strongest 
character  in  the  play ;  and  blush  with  shame  that  such  a 

129 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

In  the  attempt  (which  many  people  are  willing  to 
make)  to  steady  other  people's  altars,  mistakes  might 
easily  be  made  and  the  punishment  be  severe,  sometime 
and  somewhere. 

Is  the  picture  of  the  American  man  typical  and  well 
drawn  in  the  play,  "My  Official  Wife"  ?  Certainly  a  fact 
is  brought  out,  that  for  a  man  to  dishonor  himself  and 
his  wife,  or  vice  versa,  is  looked  on  as  scarcely  a  sin,  if 
it  be  not  found  out;  which  shows  how  we  are  blinded 
by  the  serpent  of  lust,  "that  old  deceiver  that  deceiveth 
the  whole  world/'  even  to  call  dishonor  of  no  importance. 

In  the  noted  play  called  "The  Man  from  Home,"  there 
is  little  to  choose  between  three  of  the  main  characters. 
One  is  at  a  loss  to  judge  which  is  the  greater  cad,  the 
American  sister  or  brother,  or  the  English  "Lordling." 
That  the  American  pair  should  be  able  and  willing  to 
sacrifice  the  sister's  entire  fortune  to  secure  the  no- 
account  sprig  of  nobility  who  only  wanted  the  money, 
and  was  portrayed  as  so  crudely  and  rudely  betraying 
himself  on  all  occasions  that  a  young  woman  of  any 
self-respect  would  have  held  herself  entirely  above  his 
advances  is  incredible;  then  after  slamming  around, 
stamping  her  foot,  and  otherwise  showing  a  bad  temper ; 
which  in  later  life  would  not  be  so  cunning,  she  sub- 
sides, but  only  after  being  rejected  by  the  Englishman 
and  his  villain  companions  whom  she  had  been  proud 
to  consider  her  friends,  she  sings  "Genevieve"!  and  we 
are  left  to  infer  that  she  is  to  marry  "The  Man  from 
Home"  (who  is  found  to  have  been  all  unconsciously 
hobnobbing  with  a  "real  prince"),  and  to  settle  down  in 
Ohio  or  Iowa.  Well,  just  imagine  such  a  sentimental 

132 


- "  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

combination  occurring  in  real  life,  if  you  can;    I  can't. 
It  leaves  one  almost  speechless. 

Operas  and  plays  of  the  "Merry  Widow"  variety, 
wherein  we  find  not  one  respectable  character,  nothing 
but  intrigue  and  falsehood,  will  pack  houses  for  long 
continued  seasons  with  two  dollar  seats,  when  a  really 
fine  historical  play,  perfectly  staged  and  presented,  will 
not  run  profitably  a  week.  A  reasonable  mind  can 
scarcely  comprehend  it.  Aside  from  Shakespeare  there 
are  certainly  few  plays  or  operas  worthy  of  the  name, 
or  at  all  safe  for  humanity  to  look  upon,  or  be  influenced 
by. 

NOTE.  It  is  not  wise  or  right  to  caricature  the  English,  nor,  on 
the  other  hand  should  they  caricature  us,  as  they  often  do.  See 
Appendix  N,  page  213. 


133 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  FRIEND  once  asked  me  if  it  was  not  a  sad  day 
when  I  found  the  illusions  of  youth  dispelled. 
I  said  I  thought  I  must  have  had  no  illusions, 
so  there  had  been  none  to  dispel;  only  to  find  in  after 
years  that  I  had  probably  had  more  illusions  than  most, 
and  held  them  longer.  But  so  far  from  regretting,  I 
saw  that  if  they  were  illusions  the  sooner  they  were 
dispelled  the  better.  Some  appear  to  object  to  any  think- 
ing which  will  free  them;  and  if  they  have  nothing  to 
fall  back  on  after  the  illusions  are  gone,  perhaps  they  are 
justified.  "But  such  will  have  trouble  in  the  flesh." 
Others  find  that  only  then  are  they  ready  to  begin  to 
live.  With  this  in  mind  we  may  proceed  to  dispel  a  few 
more  illusions. 

We  are  beginning  to  understand  what  the  "Yellow 
Ticket"  means  to  Russian  Jewish  women  who  were 
brought  up  in  even  purer  thought  than  most  peoples.  A 
terrible  price  to  pay  for  education  or  liberty. 

In  the  play  called  "The  Temptation,"  now  in  the  movies 
also  and  played  by  noted  actors  without  a  word  of  protest 
as  to  its  sweeping  and  terrible  inference,  we  find  a  situa- 
tion, regarding  which  we  have  all  with  sorrow  heard  many 
strong  hints.  "Billy  Sunday  declared  that  a  famous 
actress  said,  most  of  the  big  men  in  the  theatrical  busi- 
ness have  climbed  to  their  throne  over  the  charred  souls 
of  women."  To  his  credit  be  it  said  Billy  did  not  appear 
to  have  grasped  the  full  import  of  those  words.  It  is 
well  nigh  incredible,  but  the  proof  seems  damning  to 
these  so-called  big  men  in  the  theatrical  profession. 

134 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

They  have  succeeded,  and  success  even  in  evil  is  wor- 
shipped at  this  time,  as  is  well  known.  This  thing  has 
been  going  on  for  long;  consider  it,  and  pity  the  victim, 
in  her  so-called  success.  Men  do  not  appear  to  advantage 
in  thus  taking  advantage  of  seeming  necessity  in  others. 
Mary  Wollstonecraft,  Lady  Nelson,  and  numbers  of 
others  since  and  in  our  own  time,  are  instances.  Many 
men  seem  to  think  it  creditable  to  have  been  and  to  be 
contemptible  and  horribly  dishonorable  toward  women, 
forcing  upon  them  inhuman  and  disgusting  circum- 
stances. One  can  scarcely  credit  such  conclusions,  but 
how  are  we  to  escape  them  in  view  of  such  admissions? 
Men  do  certainly  belie,  or  give  themselves  away  aston- 
ishingly: and  it  must  be  because  they  feel  safe  in  doing 
so,  and  that  other  men  in  power  have  a  certain  sympa- 
thy and  are  not  anxious  to  interfere. 

"The  Real  National  Pastime" 
"Just  think  of  the  parlors  in  this  broad  land 
Where  tonight  men  are  lying  to  beat  the  band 
And  think  of  the  maidens  who  as  they  spoon 
Are  thinking  of  weddings  to  come  off  in  June." 
What  sort  of  talk  is  this  ? 

Sympathy  is  certainly  due  the  maidens  who  are  thus 
mocked  at,  in  a  serious  situation  and  "lied"  to  by  men 
who  are,  according  to  their  own  statements,  condemned 
out  of  their  own  mouths.  Items  of  this  kind  quite 
naturally  react  to  lack  of  confidence  in  men,  and  the  out- 
come is  often  called  jealousy,  and  considered  funny. 
See  "Jokes"  in  daily  papers.  Men  do  certainly  thus 
betray  or  belie  themselves.  The  jealousy  is  apt  to  be  on 
the  part  of  the  one  who  does  not  succeed  in  his  or  her 
scheme,  though  it  may  falsely  be  credited  elsewhere. 


135 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

Often  a  woman  is  said  to  be  "jealous  when  she  is 
only  disgusted,"  as  the  English  cousin  in  the  play  "Peg 
o'  My  Heart"  is  moved  to  remind  her  married  admirer, 
a  contemptible  cad  who  is  trying  to  work  up  sympathy 
through  reviling  his  wife ;  who  might  easily  be  too  good 
for  him.*  In  listening  to  this  much  overrated  play  it 
is  well  nigh  sickening  to  see  men  of  uncertain  age  with 
watery  eyes  gazing  rapturously  at  the  poor  little  Irish 
ingenue  heroine;  who  is  called  a  typical  American;  and 
applauded  as  an  example  to  her  sex;  after  having  been 
allowed  to  "come  up"  with  and  by  her  father,  an  Irish 
agitator  who  drove  about  New  York  State  spouting 
Socialistic  speeches  from  the  tail  of  a  wagon.  Her  En- 
glish aunt  and  cousins  are  derided  for  being  the  outcome 
of  the  English  environment,  and  maligned  for  trying  to 
safeguard  Peg,  who  afterwards  marries  a  scion  of  En- 
glish "nobility,"  as  a  reward  for  being  utterly  lawless 
and  unconventional,  and  lugging  around  a  big,  clever 
Airdale  terrier  while  lecturing  her  unmarried  English 
cousin  for  petting  a  lap  dog  instead  of  a  child.  (Which 
of  the  two  dogs  was  more  suitable  for  a  parlor  pet?)f 
What  happened  to  "Peg"  after  her  marriage  to  a  man  of 
that  class  is  left,  as  usual,  to  the  imagination;  which 
is  a  pity  as  so  few  people  are  accustomed  to  carrying 
any  situation  out  to  a  conclusion.  One  does  not  need 
to  be  much  of  a  prophet  to  foresee  complications  or 
final  divorce  looming  up  as  a  reasonable  possibility  under 
the  circumstances. 

The  old  saying  "All's  fair  in  love  and  war"  must  in 
truth  be  changed  to  read  "All's  unfair  in  lust  and  war." 


*  See  Appendix  E,  page  203. 
fSee  Appendix  L,  page  211. 


136 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Love  and  war  are  totally  unlike,  but  lust  and  war  are 
twins,  and  there  is  no  health  in  them,  and  it  is  for 
woman  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent — lust — even 
though  it  hisses  and  tries  to  bite  her  heel — as  it  does ! 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  while  men  recognize  in 
society  and  business  men  who  are  immoral,  they  will 
not  allow  women  of  that  class  to  appear  under  the  same 
conditions.  They  warn  their  women  relatives  and 
acquaintances  against  such,  if  there  is  the  least  doubt. 
But  often  their  gossip  is  as  untrue  as  it  is  merciless, 
and  their  women  would  not  dare  to  disregard  it.  Yet  it 
is  understood  that  women  are  hard  on  their  erring  sisters, 
while  men  are  more  sympathetic;  not  so,  at  all,  though 
a  fellow  feeling  sometimes  makes  us  wondrous  kind. 
The  right  kind  of  a  woman  is  a  woman's  best  friend, 
especially  so  if  she  does  not  flatter  the  victim,  as  it  is 
often  through  reciprocal  flattery  she  has  come  to  grief. 

In  a  recent  noted  case  a  man  of  fifty- four  (a  college 
professor  with  a  wife  and  child)  was  found  in  compromis- 
ing situation  with  the  young  wife  of  an  American  officer, 
now  in  France.  There  was  much  indignation  and  perhaps 
because  of  our  sentiment  for  soldiers,  and  the  fact  that 
she  had  a  son  as  well  as  a  husband  and  herself  to  dis- 
grace; for  once  the  man  was  publicly  blamed.  It  was 
evident  that  he  had,  through  taking  advantage  of  his 
position,  age,  and  education,  perverted  the  mind  of  his 
victim,  and  his  own  wife,  by  his  erotic  and  speciously 
expressed  ideas.  The  woman  in  this  case  turned  out  to 
be  the  sister  of  an  artist's  model  (probably  about  the 
style  of  woman  to  whom  many  men  are  weak  enough 
to  make  their  prayer  [a  la  Kipling],  and  then  condemn 
her  unsparingly  because  she  is  just  the  kind  of  a  woman 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

she  was  to  start  with,  probably  much  younger  than  the 
man  in  the  case,  who  ought  to  have  known  better  and 
corrected  her  thought).  However,  a  "wise"  woman 
lecturer  referring  to  it,  and  in  effect  excusing  him,  said, 
"Fifty  is  a  critical  age  for  men,"  etc.,  and  "wives  must 
be  very  patient,"  etc.  Maudlin  sympathy  of  this  kind 
is  decidedly  out  of  place.  He  should  be  made  to  see 
himself  as  a  "sex  lizard,"  a  term  which  was  well  ap- 
plied to  him  and  others  of  his  kind,  and  then  he  might 
be  seen  and  see  himself  more  clearly  in  his  true  charac- 
ter; and  perhaps  his  nefarious  career  would  be  checked 
most  sharply,  as  it  should  be,  and  not  allowed  to  continue 
disastrously  for  others.* 

The  well  known  and  well  named,  head  of  the  "Chicago 
Committee  of  Fifteen,"  Mr.  Thrasher,  wrought  up 
to  a  righteous  white  heat  over  this  case,  in  which  the 
man's  defense  was  that  he  was  engaged  in  scientific 
research  is  moved  to  fairly  shout:  "What  twaddle, 
mark  me  if  I  catch  a  high  brow  University  Professor 
paying  for  scientific  research  in  the  same  way  that  the  low 
browed,  short  jawed,  licentious  cuss  paid  for  his,  he  will 
get  what  is  coming  to  him,  or  the  Committee  of  Fifteen 
will  get  a  new  Superintendent."  Shock  words  like  these 
are  needed  to  waken  the  public  to  what  is  going  on  under 
a  cover  of  decorous  appearance  about  us.  The  brain 
would  reel  under  such  revelations  if  the  right  minded  per- 
son whose  eyes  have  been  opened  upon  it,  could  not  at 
least  make  an  attempt  to  counteract  these  wrongs ;  even  as 
the  one  to  whom  the  angel  in  Revelation  showed  the  con- 
tents of  the  vials  of  wrath,  was  shown  also  the  vision  of 
the  bride,  the  lamb's  wife,  i.e.,  ideal  conditions  in  this  re- 

*  Appendix  J,  see  page  — . 

138 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

lation ;  at  present  far  from  mortal  man's  ideal  for  himself 
which  he  mistakenly  attempts  to  make  the  ideal  of  generic 
woman,  but  without  success.  There  are  many  unfortu- 
nate, but  no  bad  women,  and  there  are  many  good  men ; 
the  others  must  be  victims  of  wrong  general  environ- 
ment for  which  the  so  called  leaders  in  action  must  be 
in  a  measure  responsible;  and  yet  who  ask  in  an  in- 
jured pharisaical. tone:  "Are  we  our  brother's  keeper?" 
and  answer  themselves  with  a  querulous  lying  nega- 
tive. One  can  in  a  measure  understand  the  attitude  of 
those  "who  do  not  read  those  things"  as  an  utterly  self- 
ish one.  But  for  those  who  consider  themselves,  and 
are  considered,  "leaders  of  thought,"  in  the  face  of  the 
many  incidents  which  stain  the  pages  of  our  daily 
papers  where  men  have  deceived  woman  after  woman, 
robbing  her  of  her  money  even,  as  well  as  her  chastity, 
and  perhaps  her  life ;  in  the  most  contemptible  and  re- 
volting ways;  the  situation  seems  appalling.  Should 
the  proverb  "There  are  none  so  blind  as  those  who  will 
not  see"  be  applied  in  their  case?  Is  it  not  time  that 
the  attention  of  man  should  be  brought  sharply  to  the 
thought  of  self  control.  He  will  find  himself  fully  and 
profitably  occupied,  his  reason  will  be  clarified  and  his 
perspective  improved. 

Startling  it  is  for  a  thoughtful  person  when  at  long 
intervals  some  deeply  injured  woman  shoots  a  man  in 
self-defense  (which  society  does  not  provide  her)  and  is 
acquitted  by  a  humane  jury,  to  see  in  editorials  and 
illustrated  articles  the  rapid  fire  statement  and  inference 
that  "husband  shooting  is  becoming  a  pastime  with 
women,  as  they  know  juries  are  too  sentimental  to  convict 


139 


Taking  ''Forth  the  Precious  From  the  File' 

a  young  or  good  looking  woman,"  inferring  a  sex  interest. 
This  is  a  libel  on  woman  and  on  the  jury. 

If  there  are  no  extenuating  circumstances  the  woman  is 
punished  as  she  should  be;  and  when  as  occasionally 
happens  an  abnormal  and  shallow,  unfortunate  woman 
does  shoot  her  husband  without  reason,  it  is  mainly 
because  she  has  read  or  seen  these  misleading  and  inciting 
articles  referred  to,  and  believed  them  to  her  lasting  be- 
trayal and  pitiful  shameful  end. 

Why  are  the  myriads  of  wife  and  woman  murders 
plainly  recounted  in  our  daily  papers  (sometimes  in 
wholesale  proportion,  of  ten  or  more  consecutive  victims 
of  one  man)  under  brutal  and  hideous  circumstances 
never  referred  to  in  such  connection?  By  analogy  there 
seems  to  be  a  continuous  orgy  of  wife  and  woman  mur- 
ders by  men,  to  say  nothing  of  countless  men  victims  of 
masculine  agencies,  including  war;  and  proportionately 
few  of  the  murderers  are  punished.  Any  fair  minded 
intelligent  person  must  admit  this  to  be  a  terrible  fact.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  heedless  or  intentional  unfairness  of 
inference  which  is  so  fearsome,  when  one  considers  the 
outcome  of  lies  and  injustice.  It  is  bound  to  react  and  all 
must  suffer  because  of  it. 

The  "Jmx"  man  case  in  New  York  is  one  recent  inci- 
dent, which  ended  in  the  removal  of  a  stench  to  the  world 
in  the  shape  of  a  "vampire"  as  much  worse  than  any 
woman  could  be  as  can  be  imagined.  And  there  are 
legions  of  them  in  existence,  as  is  well  known,  all  typical 
victims  of  wrong  conditions  which  should  and  must  be 
changed.  How  long,  Oh  Lord,  how  long? 

The  attitude  of  men  toward  one  of  their  sex  who  is 
handsome  is  interesting.  Articles  are  written  to  prove  it 

140 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

to  be  a  great  disadvantage  to  a  man ;  they  are  ridiculed  in 
school  and  called  "Beauty"  in  derision ;  especially  if  they 
are  clean-minded.  The  main  reason  given  seems  to  be 
"that  women  run  after  and  make  fools  of  themselves 
and  of  handsome  men"  who  are  said  to  be  "injured  or 
ruined  through  such  treatment."  On  the  other  hand 
these  writers  say  it  is  all  right  for  a  woman  to  be  hand- 
some, etc.  Let  us  analyze  the  situation:  if  women  in 
turn  should  just  reverse  the  statement  and  should  say 
that  the  same  is  true  in  regard  to  women — which  it  is 
and  more  so — men  would  rise  in  wrath  and  power  and 
say  these  women  who  make  this  claim  are  "jealous"; 
but  it  is  quite  a  different  thing  when  men  make  such 
statements.  One  would  expect  them  to  curl  up  a  little 
on  it,  however;  but  that  does  not  last  long.  Of  course, 
they  are  right,  being  men;  and  they  are  satisfied  with 
the  situation  as  it  is ;  and  so  they  sail  on  as  comfortable 
in  their  minds  as  ever.  It  would  be  funny  if  it  were 
not  so  serious — for  the  women,  and  for  the  men  also. 
Then  the  men  blame  the  women  because  they — the  men — 
run  after  them  to  the  destruction  of  both,  and  call  the 
women  "Vampires."  Is  it  not  curious,  to  say  the  least, 
and  far  from  reasonable?  Why  is  it  that  so  few  people 
seem  to  have  a  definite  idea  of  what  is  right  and  what 
is  wrong?  "Nineveh,  that  great  city  of  much  people 
who  do  not  know  their  right  hand  from  their  left,  and 
also  much  cattle" — seems  to  live  again.  The  people  of 
Nineveh  repented  and  did  works  meet  for  repentance, 
and  so  were  saved.  Are  we  going  to  fail  and  be  destroyed 
root  and  branch?  Are  there  not  "ten  good  and  wise 
people"  (in  proportion)  who  can  save  us  if  we  listen; 
from  the  fate  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  If  there  are 

141 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  File" 

not,  or  we  fail  to  give  heed,  we  may  have  to  go  down 
as  did  those  cities.  These  examples  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  for  our  warning,  and  should  be  heeded. 

The  human  mind  listening  to  its  Daemon  (lower  self) 
seems  to  have  a  tendency  to  make  a  headlong  rush  to 
invalidate  any  good  idea. 

Movies,  theaters,  dancing,  and  cards  probably  have 
their  rightful  place  in  the  present  day  social  scheme; 
but  the  devil  himself  seems  to  be  making  use  of  them 
to  do  an  inestimable  amount  of  harm.  Movies,  plays,  and 
novels  filled  with  intrigue,  immorality,  horseplay,  death, 
and  destruction,  must  have  a  very  bad  effect  on  imma- 
ture minds  and  unformed  conclusions ;  the  plots  are  so 
weak  and  unnatural,  not  at  all  as  happenings  are  or 
should  be  in  real  life.  Modern  plays  and  novels  are  well 
called  "Ananias'  greatest  rival."  Dancing,  with  proper 
supervision  and  environment,  is  likely  to  be  beneficial. 
But  the  atrocities  allowed  at  the  present  time,  and  the  atti- 
tude of  those  indulging  in  it  toward  anything  approaching 
chaperonage  is  so  insolent,  that  there  seems  to  be  little 
hope;  and,  indeed,  present  day  chaperons  seem  to  and 
must,  defer  to  the  young  if  they  are  to  be  thought  up- 
to-date  and  at  all  considered.  An  abnormal  situation 
which  has  its  advocates  among  people  who  are  in  the 
public  eye,  but  whose  ideas  are  wholly  iconoclastic  and 
without  practical  solution. 

When  people  make  pilgrimages  to  the  home  of  a  man 
like  Walt  Whitman,  as  to  a  shrine,  we  must  sense  an 
abnormal  situation.  He  "sings"  of  himself:  "I,  Walt 
Whitman,  twenty-seven  years  old,  six  feet  tall,  strong, 
and  healthy,"  and  then  proceeds  to  preach  and  to  practice 
low  vulgarities  and  obscenities  of  all  sorts.  As  a  natural 

142 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

result  we  find  him  a  hopeless  paralytic  from  the  hips 
down,  at  the  age  of  fifty- two  or  fifty-four.  He  is 
said,  on  good  authority,  to  acknowledge  that  he  has  six 
illegitimate  children  for  whom  he  has  assumed  no 
responsibility,  but  has  rather  laid  it  heavily  on  other 
shoulders.  You  feel  that  his  fate  was  none  too  severe, 
though  he  appears  to  "glory"  in  it  all.  He  tries  to  give 
the  impression  that  his  last  state  was  brought  on  through 
sitting  by  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War,  holding  their 
hands,  and  writing  letters  for  them.  He  has  a  large 
following  who  affect  to  believe  him  and  his  "teaching." 
Those  who  know  of  the  severe  and  heavy  services  per- 
formed for  soldiers  in  all  wars  by  frail  and  delicate 
women,  know  that  his  claims  are  as  false  as  are  many  of 
his  statements.  In  his  writings  he  has  plagiarized  and 
clothed  in  words,  ideas  which  have  been  better  expressed 
by  others  before  him. 

That  such  men  should  receive  adulation  gives  one  a 
distinct  distrust  for  human  judgment  in  all  directions. 
Whitman's  style  and  ideas  are  suited  to,  and  were  enthu- 
siastically accepted  by,  old  world  people,  but  that  does 
not  prove  them  to  be  ethical  or  correct  by  any  means. 
Why  should  we  accept  dictation.  We  should  have  con- 
fidence in  our  own  judgment,  which  was  pronounced 
when  his  books  were  denied  the  mails  because  of  their 
conceded  obscenity  and  vulgarity.  In  the  eulogies  pub- 
lished for  his  "Centenary"  why  is  no  mention  made  of  his 
immoralities  and  their  result  and  effects,  except  as  those 
who  condemn  them  are  referred  to  as  mistaken  prudes. 
He  aspires  to  be  "the  people's"  poet  and  to  be  read  by 
millions.  But  "the  people"  do  not  read  him,  and  his  in- 
fluence is  extended  by  the  few  shallow  seekers  for  cheap 

143 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

notoriety,  mostly  "deriving"  from  foreign  influence  who 
do  read  and  sympathize  with  him  through  approving 
reference  and  quotation. 

Whitman  was  astute  enough  to  realize  this  himself ;  he 
did  learn  much  in  the  school  of  life  and  experience,  but 
that  does  not  entitle  him  to  be  set  up  as  an  example  for 
imitation;  rather  should  his  works  be  read  as  a  warning 
to  those  who  are  inclined  to  walk  in  his  ways  or  use  his 
methods;  connected  with  the  proverb  "Experience  is  a 
dear  school  but  fools  will  learn  in  no  other."  Instead  of, 
with  colossal  egotism,  singing  and  glorifying  his  human 
self  he  should  have  sat  in  humility  and  sorrow  that  he  had 
not  known  better,  ere  it  was  too  late  for  him  to  have  lived 
a  moral,  normal  and  useful  life.  Instead  of  encouraging 
others  (like  the  dyspeptic  gourmet  or  exhausted  and 
abortive  debauche  who  encourages  others  in  excesses 
which  he  must  forego)  he  should  through  his  experience 
have  warned  them  not  to  do  likewise;  only  thus  can  his 
sins — mistakes — be  expiated  and  transmuted  into  the  gold 
of  human  character  for  himself  and  others.  He  seems  not 
to  have  learned  this  lesson  even  when  confronted  with  his 
years  of  helplessness  and  suffering  (which  nearly  canon- 
ized him  in  the  minds  of  those  whose  sympathy  is  aroused 
by  suffering,  as  well  as  by  those  who  are  inclined  to  follow 
in  his  immoral  footsteps.) 


144 


CHAPTER  IX 

THIS  is  all  naturally,  from  a  woman's  standpoint, 
rather  unusual,  and  requiring  some  thought.  Is 
not  man's  standpoint  the  one  considered  by  the 
greater  part  of  the  world  of  both  women  and  men? — 
woman  not  being  supposed  to  have  a  standpoint.  It 
is,  I  should  say,  a  part  of  the  life  experience  of  one 
who  seems  to  be  a  synthesis  of  Quaker  ancestry,  a 
synonym  for  freedom  from  form;  and  whose  environ- 
ment has  been  worldly  and  formal,  the  opposite  extreme. 
The  conflict  between  formal  appearance,  worldly  opinion, 
and  reality,  felt  by  the  soul  to  be  true,  has  been  a  trying 
one.  Condemning  in  one's  self  ideas  which  the  soul 
knows  to  be  right,  struggling  against  them,  trying  to 
overcome  and  conform  to  generally  accepted  opinion 
about  one,  without  sacrificing  principle,  is  not  easy. 

Why  the  light  did  not  come  sooner  cannot  be  known, 
nor  why  it  came  at  all,  except  it  was  through  formal  and 
expressed  desire — call  it  prayer  or  what  you  will.  Now 
it  has  come  it  is  worth  all  it  has  cost ;  and  one  who  does 
not  know  can  scarcely  appreciate  what  that  means.  Why 
have  we  not  been  allowed  to  understand  and  act  upon 
the  Scripture  teaching,  which  says  plainly:  "Be  not 
conformed  to  this  world,  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the 
renewing  of  your  mind"?  The  effort  on  the  part  of 
those  who  have  been  considered  authority,  has  in  the 
past  been  to  make  everyone  conform  to  this  world, 
through  force,  manifested  in  one  way  or  another;  not 
allowing  them  to  be  transformed  through  mind.  What 
has  so  blinded  us  as  to  make  us  do  directly  the  opposite 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

to  that  which  we  profess?  Do  we  "love  bondage  more 
than  liberty"  ?  Let  us  ask  ourselves  soberly  and  serious- 
ly. Philosophers  say  this  sometimes  occurs  in  nations 
under  dangerous  circumstances;  and  we  know  it  to  be 
true. 

Innumerable  committees  are  appointed  to  investigate 
and  report  on  all  sorts  of  conditions.  Perhaps  if  we 
stopped  to  consider  that  these  conditions  are  effects  and 
each  individual  case  a  variant,  we  would  see  how  futile 
it  is  to  attempt  thus  to  deal  with  them  successfully  and 
try  some  other  plan.  If  on  going  into  a  garden  you  find 
all  the  peaches  imperfect,  the  pears  faulty,  and  apples 
defective,  the  flowers  blighted,  and  so  on,  would  you 
attempt  to  apply  one  remedy  for  each  of  the  peaches, 
another  remedy  for  the  apples,  and  so  on;  or  would 
you  look  to  the  soil  for  the  cause,  and  so  reach  and 
improve  conditions  and  through  them  the  effects  ? 

There  is  no  doubt  that  lust  is  at  the  bottom  of  all 
trouble;  lust  for  money,  power,  or  worse.  The  serpent's 
suggestion  in  Eden  is  referred  to  in  the  Bible  as  "the 
lust  of  the  eyes,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of 
life."  Physical  lust  is  the  procuring  cause.  In  produc- 
ing physical  bodies  we  probably  sow  the  seed  for  all 
evil.  "Lust  when  it  hath  conceived  bringeth  forth  death," 
and  all  that  goes  to  make  and  bring  death:  disease, 
accident,  etc.  Spiritual  knowledge  of  the  Truth  brings 
freedom.  Physical  knowing  or  experimental  evil,  brings 
bondage  to  all.  "That  which  is  esteemed  among  men  is 
an  abomination  unto  the  Lord,"  the  Bible  says;  and  it 
commands  us  to  "escape  the  corruption  which  is  in  the 
world  through  lust."  The  Jews  resorted  to  material  or 
physical  circumcision  to  remove  or  reduce  the  obsession. 

146 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

St.  Paul  says  it  is  circumcision  of  the  mind  we  need; 
we  must  lift  thought  from  the  physical.  Some  may 
think  and  say  it  is  impossible,  but  it  is  not  impossible; 
the  fact  that  it  must  be  done  proves  that  it  can  and  will 
be  done.  The  following,  taken  from  a  poem  by  a  noted 
woman  writer,  addressed  to  generic  man,  shows  deep 
insight  and  is  encouraging: 

Toiler,  bent  and  wear.y  with  the  load  of  thine  own  making! 
Thou  who  art  sad  and  lonely,  though  lonely  all  in  vain! 
Who  has  sought  to  conquer  Pleasure  and  have  her  for  the 

taking, 
And  found  that  Pleasure  only  was  another  name  for 

Pain — 

Nature  hath  reclaimed  thee,  forgiving  dispossession! 
God  hath  not  forgotten,  though  man  doth  still  forget! 
The  woman-soul  is  rising,  in  despite  of  thy  transgression — 
Loose  her  now,  and  trust  her!    She  will  love  thee  yet! 

Love  thee?  She  will  love  thee  as  only  freedom  knoweth! 
Love  thee?  She  will  love  thee  while  love  itself  doth  live! 
Fear  not  the  heart  of  woman!  No  bitterness  it  showeth! 
The  ages  of  her  sorrow  have  but  taught  her  to  forgive! 

All  this  which  I  seem  "to  see"  and  have  endeavored 
to  "tell  in  a  plain  way"  has  been  told  over  and  over 
(as  we  have  found)  by  poets  and  prophets  in  a  mystic 
manner,  veiled,  as  it  were,  from  strong  sunlight,  because 
of  the  penalty  attached  to  the  expression  of  ideas  in 
advance  of  the  time,  which  may  be  a  cup  of  hemlock, 
or  crucifixion.  St.  Paul  realized  the  mission  of  poets  as 
being  congenial  with  his.  In  his  teaching  at  Athens,  he 
says  (to  give  more  authority  to  his  words  in  the  minds 


147 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

of  his  educated  hearers),  "as  certain  of  your  own  poets 
have  said,"  showing  that  he  himself  had  read  the  Greek 
poets.  May  we  not  fortify  our  opinions  and  justify  the 
expression  of  our  convictions  (as  I  have  done)  by  the 
expressed  thought  of  the  acceptedly  wise  of  all  times; 
and  is  it  not  here  that  the  true  value  of  expression  is  to 
be  found? 

The  statement  often  given  us  and  apparently  proved 
a  fact,  that  "anything  carried  to  a  logical  conclusion 
brings  up  against  an  absurdity"  (an  unthinkable  posi- 
tion), proves  that  the  general  present  view  is  incorrect, 
that  we  are  not  hewing  to  the  line.  For  that  which 
ends  in  absurdity  is  not  logic.  Either  our  premise  or 
process,  perhaps  both,  has  been  wrong;  for  logic  is 
certainly  logical.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  strange 
that  we  have  gone  astray;  but  strange  that  any  one 
should  do  otherwise,  when  that  which  seems  like  evidence 
is  so  overpowering,  and  yet  it  must  be  reversed. 

Much  that  is  called  art,  literature,  and  music  is  now 
seen  to  be  based  largely  on  unnatural  and  abnormal 
subjects — sin  and  sickness,  misery  and  death.  The  art 
of  the  future  will  embody  only  that  which  leads  to  happi- 
ness, health,  and  life.  It  is  often  said  that  there  are  few 
great  woman  artistes,  except  on  the  stage.  Perhaps  it  is 
as  well  and  creditable  to  woman.  Much  that  is  now 
considered  art  might  better  not  have  been  expressed, 
and  will  as  we  advance  be  done  away  with  and  no  one 
will  miss  or  regret  it.  It  is  largely,  perhaps  wholly, 
masculine  in  inception  truly.  Women  have  given  up  the 
best  part  of  their  lives  for  other  duties,  beside  that  of 
inspiration,  which  is  conceded  them  and  which  is  most 
important  in  itself. 

148 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

If  you  listen  closely  you  will  realize  that  too  often 
you  hear  women  carelessly  referred  to  in  a  general  way, 
in  churches  or  other  places,  where  it  should  not  be.  The 
expression  "effeminate  and  degenerate"  used  together. 
"There  are  women  who  don't  gossip  (or  talk),  but 
they're  dead."  Woman  and  her  work  in  the  temperance 
cause,  either  ignored  or  said  to  be  doing  more  harm  than 
good.  "Citizens,  with  their  wives  and  children"  are 
spoken  of.  It  is  not  safe  or  fair  to  generalize  in  such 
ways.  In  the  good  book  written  ages  ago  man  is  told, 
"Be  not  bitter  against  thy  wife,"  and  again,  "Forsake 
not  the  wife  of  thy  youth."  Oh,  the  long  and  rugged 
way  over  which  woman  has  trod!  To  realize  this  truth 
and  then  find  such  sentiments  as  are  expressed  in  "The 
Vampire"  and  "The  female  of  the  species  is  more  deadly 
than  the  male,"  apparently  indorsed  through  reference 
and  quotation,  is  to  be  saddened  and  shamed. 

Kipling  blindly  sees  little  positive  good  in  woman.  His 
experiences  in  Belgium  have  opened  his  eyes  to  some 
extent,  still  in  desperation  he  calls  Germany  "a  female 
nation."  Why?  Is  it  because  in  Germany  woman  is 
absolutely  suppressed,  and  it  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
a  male  nation?  So  does  the  human  mind  attempt  to 
justify  its  own  vagaries.  This  notion  is  quoted  with  ap- 
proval by  a  Japanese  (whose  estimate  of  woman  is 
Oriental  and  well  known)  who  is  later  given  (dis)  credit 
for  originating  the  phrase;  Kipling  and  the  English  not 
contending  for  the  (dis)  honor.  Bismarck  is  quoted  as 
saying  that  "Nations  are  male  and  female,  and  Germany 
is  a  male  nation."  It  would  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
Bismarck  knew  the  Germans  better  than  did  Kipling ;  but 
I  think  the  point  is  here,  that  if  it  is  intended  to  slur  a 


149 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

of  his  educated  hearers),  "as  certain  of  your  own  poets 
have  said,"  showing  that  he  himself  had  read  the  Greek 
poets.  May  we  not  fortify  our  opinions  and  justify  the 
expression  of  our  convictions  (as  I  have  done)  by  the 
expressed  thought  of  the  acceptedly  wise  of  all  times; 
and  is  it  not  here  that  the  true  value  of  expression  is  to 
be  found? 

The  statement  often  given  us  and  apparently  proved 
a  fact,  that  "anything  carried  to  a  logical  conclusion 
brings  up  against  an  absurdity"  (an  unthinkable  posi- 
tion), proves  that  the  general  present  view  is  incorrect, 
that  we  are  not  hewing  to  the  line.  For  that  which 
ends  in  absurdity  is  not  logic.  Either  our  premise  or 
process,  perhaps  both,  has  been  wrong;  for  logic  is 
certainly  logical.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  strange 
that  we  have  gone  astray;  but  strange  that  any  one 
should  do  otherwise,  when  that  which  seems  like  evidence 
is  so  overpowering,  and  yet  it  must  be  reversed. 

Much  that  is  called  art,  literature,  and  music  is  now 
seen  to  be  based  largely  on  unnatural  and  abnormal 
subjects — sin  and  sickness,  misery  and  death.  The  art 
of  the  future  will  embody  only  that  which  leads  to  happi- 
ness, health,  and  life.  It  is  often  said  that  there  are  few 
great  woman  artistes,  except  on  the  stage.  Perhaps  it  is 
as  well  and  creditable  to  woman.  Much  that  is  now 
considered  art  might  better  not  have  been  expressed, 
and  will  as  we  advance  be  done  away  with  and  no  one 
will  miss  or  regret  it.  It  is  largely,  perhaps  wholly, 
masculine  in  inception  truly.  Women  have  given  up  the 
best  part  of  their  lives  for  other  duties,  beside  that  of 
inspiration,  which  is  conceded  them  and  which  is  most 
important  in  itself. 

148 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

If  you  listen  closely  you  will  realize  that  too  often 
you  hear  women  carelessly  referred  to  in  a  general  way, 
in  churches  or  other  places,  where  it  should  not  be.  The 
expression  "effeminate  and  degenerate"  used  together. 
"There  are  women  who  don't  gossip  (or  talk),  but 
they're  dead."  Woman  and  her  work  in  the  temperance 
cause,  either  ignored  or  said  to  be  doing  more  harm  than 
good.  "Citizens,  with  their  wives  and  children"  are 
spoken  of.  It  is  not  safe  or  fair  to  generalize  in  such 
ways.  In  the  good  book  written  ages  ago  man  is  told, 
"Be  not  bitter  against  thy  wife,"  and  again,  "Forsake 
not  the  wife  of  thy  youth."  Oh,  the  long  and  rugged 
way  over  which  woman  has  trod!  To  realize  this  truth 
and  then  find  such  sentiments  as  are  expressed  in  "The 
Vampire"  and  "The  female  of  the  species  is  more  deadly 
than  the  male,"  apparently  indorsed  through  reference 
and  quotation,  is  to  be  saddened  and  shamed. 

Kipling  blindly  sees  little  positive  good  in  woman.  His 
experiences  in  Belgium  have  opened  his  eyes  to  some 
extent,  still  in  desperation  he  calls  Germany  "a  female 
nation."  Why?  Is  it  because  in  Germany  woman  is 
absolutely  suppressed,  and  it  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
a  male  nation?  So  does  the  human  mind  attempt  to 
justify  its  own  vagaries.  This  notion  is  quoted  with  ap- 
proval by  a  Japanese  (whose  estimate  of  woman  is 
Oriental  and  well  known)  who  is  later  given  (dis)  credit 
for  originating  the  phrase;  Kipling  and  the  English  not 
contending  for  the  (dis)  honor.  Bismarck  is  quoted  as 
saying  that  "Nations  are  male  and  female,  and  Germany 
is  a  male  nation."  It  would  be  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
Bismarck  knew  the  Germans  better  than  did  Kipling ;  but 
I  think  the  point  is  here,  that  if  it  is  intended  to  slur  a 


149 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

nation  it  can  be  called  female,  or  if  to  praise  it  it  can  be 
called  male.  Heads,  man  wins;  tails,  woman  loses.  In 
an  article  from  the  battle  front  in  France  we  read  that  a 
"kindly"  French  soldier  who  was  uncertain  of  his  En- 
glish, especially  the  genders,  spoke  always  of  the  Boche 
soldiers  as  "she,"  [not  knowing  better,  of  course,  as  they 
are  all  "he."]  The  English  speaking  writer  of  the  article 
was  much  pleased  and  self  complimented  at  this,  and  said 
"He  made  me  think  better  of  myself,  which  is  the  essence 
of  friendship."  How  could  anything  be  more  unreason- 
able than  his  attitude  ?  To  him  friendship  means  recipro- 
cal flattery,  and  "she"  is  a  term  of  utter  contempt  to 
properly  describe  a  Boche  (of  all  people)  who  is  certainly 
a  "he  man"  and  would  resent  being  called  anything 
else,  as  a  woman  is  so  inferior  and  contemptible  in  his 
so-called  mind.  There  are  no  words  with  which  to 
characterize  such  falsity  and  impertinence.  One  wonders 
that  men  will  descend  to  such  statements ;  how  they  dare 
to  do  it,  and  expect  as  they  do  to  get  away  with  it.  It  is 
certainly  a  commentary  on  the  situation. 

Germany  being  so  widely  known  as  the  "Father-land" 
why  should  it  ever  be  alluded  to  as  she  or  her,  or  said  to 
be  female.  One  would  much  rather  take  chances  with  the 
"Mother-country"  as  England  is  called. 

And  now  a  medical  doctor  of  "Tribune"  fame,  who  is 
supposed  to  be  instructing  the  unenlightened  in  the  ways 
of  human  health,  has  recently  discovered  and  announced 
that  the  United  States  is  "a  female  nation  with  the  vices 
of  the  lower  strata  of  the  sex."  Please  just  analyze 
that  statement  for  yourself.  He  should  be  made  to 
prove  or  retract  it.  The  women  of  that  "strata"  are 

150 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

what  men  have  made  them  and  are  not  in  the  majority 
by  any  means — thank  Heaven. 

A  U.  S.  Medical  officer  is  given  much  conspicuous  and 
presumably  valuable  space  in  a  well  known  daily  paper 
to  air  his  recent  "discovery"  that  woman  is  the  "fighting 
animal"  and  should  be  allowed  to  go  into  the  trenches. 
He  gives  no  proper  proof;  his  statement  is  sufficient  for 
him ;  is  he  looking  for  a  soft  spot  for  men  to  fall  on  now 
that  they  have  the  world  embroiled  in  war.  The  one 
note  on  which  these  men  expect  to  get  their  notions 
accepted,  as  they  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  is  the  fact  that 
the  female  of  any  species,  generally  speaking,  is  said  to 
be  more  easily  aroused  to  protect  the  young  than  is  the 
male ;  and  this  is  probably .  true,  but  it  is  a  creditable, 
not  a  discreditable,  quality,  and  does  not  prove  them 

vicious  or  that  they  are  the  "fighting  animal" a 

shameful  assertion.  Women  and  children  first,  means 
also  that  the  women  will  protect  and  sacrifice  for  the 
children,  and  that  men  are  more  able  to  endure  and  to 
escape  from  hardship. 

Few  civilized  men  would  consider  "Women  in  the 
Trenches"  for  a  moment.  This  we  thankfully  affirm. 
Let  us  admit  that  when  women  do  the  attacking  they 
shall  then  be  expected  to  defend.  One  man  asks,  in  good 
faith  apparently,  as  proving  man's  voting  superiority, 
who  is  fighting  the  wars  ?  Who  is  defending  the  country  ? 

He  answers  himself Men.  Might  one  ask  who  are 

attacking?  Why  men,  too.  When  women  do  the  attack- 
ing they  may  expect  to  do  the  defending  also. 

Mr.  W.  L.  George  in  the  "Atlantic"  (and  others)  claim 
that  women  are  more  animal  in  their  nature  than  men. 
One  wonders  what  premise  and  process  they  find  which 


151 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

brings  such  conclusion  in  the  light  of  present  clearly 
indicated  conditions. 

A  bright  woman  writer  after  reading  Kipling's  "Female 
of  the  Species"  is  moved  to  write  the  following;  (which 
strikes  any  fair-minded  person  as  very  keen  and  incisive) 
in  the  form  of  one  of  his  saner  poems. 


L'  ENVOI 

(Without  apologies) 
"When  the  poet's  last  verse  is  written,  and  the  ink  in  the 

bottle  is  dried, 
When  the  pen  that  he  wrote  with  is  rusted,  and  he's  lain 

himself  down  and  died, 
He  shall  rest — tho'  he  may  not  deserve  it!  till  the  Master 

shall  call  again 

And  bid  him  resume  his  labor  in  behalf  of  the  sons  of 
men. 

Then  those  that  wrote  well  will  do  better:    They  shall 

write  the  whole  day  through; 
On  the  top-most  floor  of  the  Universe,  with  a  most 

inspiring  mew; 
They'll  see  far  back  in  the  ages  gone;  and  on,  through 

the  years  to  be; 
On  an  endless  roll  of  parchment  they'll  write,  and  dip 

their  pens  in  the  sea. 

And  only  the  Master  shall  read  it,  and  only  the  Master 

shall  know 
If  the  stuff  is  any  better  than  one  of  them  wrote  long 

ago, 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

When  "The  Female  of  the  Species" — a  one-sided,  dis- 
torted mew — came 

From  the  pen  of  the  son  of  a  woman!  Let  oblivion 
cover  his  name. 

And  if,  in  the  Master's  judgment,  that  one's  quality 

hasn't  improved — 
In  the  countless  years  of  resting,  if  his  viewpoint  hasn't 

moved — 
And   he  still  insists   on   writing    that   sort,   won't   the 

Master  take  his  crown, 

Trim  the  points  into  pens  of  gold,  and  turn  the  thing 
upside  down?" 

The  Kipling  "poem"  referred  to  fairly  reeks  with  the 
venom  he  imputes  to  woman  in  an  utterly  unfair,  untrue, 
and  irrational  way.  He  fairly  foams  at  the  mouth. 
To  read  it,  except  to  refute  it,  would  be  worse  than  a 
waste  of  time. 

Not  many  are  aware  that  this  "poem"  was  first  pub- 
lished as  anti-suffrage  propaganda  in  1911  accompanied 
by  a  full  length  portrait  of  the  author,  in  The  Ladies' 
Home  Journal.  (No  remarks.)  It  was  afterward  un- 
favorably reviewed  at  length  in  Public  Opinion,  where- 
in it  was  called  "A  lash  across  the  face  of  woman." 
The  author's  amiable  intention  was  plainly  apparent.  He 
said  the  poem  was  a  lesson  in  natural  history,  as  the 
female  cobra  and  tiger  are  fiercer  than  the  male  of  those 
types ;  but  I  contend  humans  are  not  animals  or  serpents. 
Animals  have  no  real  sense  of  honor,  mercy,  or  justice; 
no  moral  nature — no  spiritual  outlook  or  aspirations ;  and 
human  beings  have  among  them  all  these.  His  statement 
as  to  the  over-viciousness  of  squaws  (who  are  simply 

i53 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

slaves  to  their  men)  often  speciously  referred  to,  was 
controverted  in  a  fine  way  by  a  Catholic  priest  who  said 
the  missionaries  were  never  among  the  Hurons,  as  Kipling 
claims,  and  that  the  record  shows,  that  the  squaws  of 
other  tribes  cared  for  and  sheltered  the  missionaries,  and 
bound  up  their  wounds.  A  fine  poem  by  a  man  opposing 
Kipling's  views,  was  also  given  in  this  review.  So  much 
for  their  truth  and  justice.  The  fact  that  he  is  said  to  be 
self -exiled  from  this  country  through  fear  of  his 
American  wife's  brother,  who  is  said  to  have  threatened, 
with  much  energy,  to  shoot  him  on  sight,  may  be 
(un) poetic  justice. 

It  may  truly  be  said  that  one  would  rather  have  all 
the  sins  in  the  catalogue  to  answer  for  than  to  have 
written  it,  and  the  one  called  the  "Vampire"  (referred 
to  earlier)  which  is  just  as  false  and  one  sided,  as  many 
unformed  minds  have  been  misled  through  them,  to  their 
undoing  and  that  of  others  in  matters  which  are  vital 
and  of  very  first  importance.  He  is  evidently  like  the 
Huns;  he  looks  in  the  glass,  and  then  reflects  what  he 
sees  there,  on  others — a  very  low  code  of  ethics.  These 
poems  are  not  usually  found  in  Kipling  collections; 
perhaps  even  he  knew  them  to  be  off-color.  We  may 
hope  and  expect  that  through  a  successful  effort  to 
refute  these  implications ;  the  deadly  effect  on  posteri- 
ty, and  also  on  the  writer  himself,  may  be  minimized.* 

No  nation  but  has  its  proverbs  derogatory  and 
insulting  to  woman.  A  young  German  boy,  under 
twenty-one,  has  recently  compiled  a  book  of  these  sayings 
which  in  years  to  come  must  stand  as  a  monument  for 
which  man  should  and  will  blush.  Naturally,  this  boy 
ended  his  life  shortly  in  an  insane  asylum,  as  fittingly  as 

*  See  Appendix  F,  page  205. 

154 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

did  his  false  and  (in)  famous  teacher.  The  "eternal 
manly"  is  rarely,  if  ever,  referred  to.  It  may  here  be 
shown  as  in  Browning's  Any  Wife  to  Any  Husband,  the 
sentiment  of  which  is  being  brought  out  in  many  so-called 
books  and  plays :  The  Great  Divide,  Squaw  Man, 
The  Virginian,  and  a  flood  of  others,  bolstering  man's 
claim  of  superiority  over  woman  in  every  way,  because — 
of  an  accident  of  birth.  It  is  Shakespeare,  a  man,  who 
says :  "Man,  vain  man,  dressed  in  a  little  brief  authority, 
to  play  such  fantastic  tricks  before  high  Heaven  as 
maketh  angels  weep,"  and  woman  smiles,  or  weeps,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

"On  the  other  hand,"  says  a  noted  woman  writer, 
"women  are  absolutely  silent,  a  silence  so  profound  that 
the  men  have  fatuously  leaped  to  the  conclusion  that 
women  have  no  opinion  in  regard  to  men,  or  more 
fatuously  still,  that  there  is  nothing  about  men  for  women 
to  criticize";  and  it  is  an  astonishing  fact,  that  all  this, 
in  the  face  of  present-day  conditions,  still  holds  good. 
"One  of  the  few  women  earth-writers  who  has  dared 
to  approach  this  subject  says:  If  I  were  a  man  and 
cared  to  know  the  world  I  lived  in,  I  think  it  would 
make  me  a  shade  uneasy,  the  weight  of  that  silence  of 
half  the  world/  "  "You  expect  to  keep  up  your  interest 
in  the  suffrage  movement?"  was  asked  of  our,  perhaps, 
most  noted  and  best-loved  woman  in  public  life  today. 
She  replied:  "I  am  a  suffragist,  yes,  but  I  am  one  who 
believes  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  on  the  subject; 
there  is  nothing  left  on  which  to  argue ;  that  women  have 
not  complete  suffrage  is  due  to  the  wickedness  of  some 
men."  This  last  may  be  "what  every  woman  knows," 

155 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

rather  than  what  the  play  of  that  name  so  guilelessly 
infers. 

Alice  F.  Palmer,  a  lovely  character,  Wellesley's 
earliest  president,  observed  this  willingness  on  the  part 
of  men  to  guide  the  female  soul,  and  their  guileless 
confidence  in  their  ability  to  do  so.  In  one  of  her  pub- 
lished letters  she  says:  "It  does  seem  impossible  for 
a  man  to  come  here  and  speak  in  a  sensible  way  to 
sensible  women.  As  usual  our  orator  talked  in  a  superior 
way  about  woman's  nature  and  condition,  health,  etc. 
He  said  he  'knew  the  depth  of  a  woman's  heart.'  If 
I  live  a  thousand  years  I  hope  I  may  never  make  that 
remark  about  any  man.  I  wait  eagerly  for  the  time  when 
men  will  take  our  ability  for  granted  and  will  tell  us 
what  we  want  to  hear  about  other  subjects."  Mrs. 
Palmer  says,  "Nobody  is  so  much  what  she  ought  to  be 
as  a  good  girl,  if  we  could  only  trust  God  and  not  fill 
her  mind  full  of  what  men  (Presbyterians  of  Albany) 
have  been  telling  her  about  God's  ways  and  therefore 
of  much  that  is  unreasonable  and  hopeless."  No  doubt 
women  have  faults  and  limitations  and  need  help  from 
men,  but  it  is  not  all  on  one  side  by  any  means.  Some 
one  says  that  one  reason  girls  and  women  get  so  much 
more  advice  is  because  they  are  more  polite  and  will 
not  snicker  or  snore  under  it  as  boys  or  men  might,  and 
so  spoil  the  satisfaction  of  the  one  bestowing  it. 

Fifty  years  ago  when  medical  missionaries  were  needed 
in  India  to  aid  the  poor  women  sufferers,,  one  minister  is 
reported  as  saying:  "I  would  rather  see  my  wife  and 
daughters  in  the  grave  than  see  them  study  medicine." 
The  women  of  his  family  were  not  allowed  opinions  of 

156 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

their  own  evidently.    I  think  they  might  have  preferred 
study  to  death,  but  that  did  not  count. 

It  is  rather  a  curious  and  indicative  fact  that  while  men 
travellers  in  the  Orient  write  very  graphic  accounts  of 
conditions  there,  rarely  do  they  even  refer  to  the  condi- 
tion of  women;  except  (perhaps  for  the  usual  reason 
that  they  are  most  in  evidence)  to  the  "butterfly"  class 
— Ouled  Nails,  Geishas,  etc.  One  has  only  to  observe 
with  the  seeing  eye  to  have  even  for  this  class  the  deep- 
est sympathy  as  they  are  simply  immoral  slaves  to  the 
men  (as  is  well  known).  In  driving  through  the  coun- 
try and  seeing  only  the  male  sex  in  evidence,  it  is  to 
wunder  where  are  the  females,  and  to  learn  with  sur- 
prise that  they  are  kept  in  the  damp  caves  of  houses,  often, 
especially  if  young  and  attractive,  to  be  actually  locked 
in  a  cave  when  the  husband  is  away,  receiving  only  the 
food  which  may  be  thrown  in  to  them  by  an  ignorant 
and  none  too  fond  mother-in-law.  In  the  cities  one 
sees  comparatively  few  women,  and  they  are  closely 
veiled  and  watched.  Their  only  outing  is  a  weekly 
trip  to  the  ghastly  cemetery  where  they  may  sit  among 
or  on  the  tombs,  and  talk  with  other  women ;  for  which 
they  must  be  duly  thankful.  There  is  nothing  humor- 
ous about  this.  Of  late  years  they  are  not  quite  so 
closely  guarded  as  in  the  past,  but  conditions  are  still 
bad  enough. 

In  an  article  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine, 
written  by  a  wife  in  collaboration  with  her  husband,  we 
find  in  the  following  transcript  a  clear  cut  statement  of 
the  woman  side  of  the  question.  "I  saw  the  ornate 
domestic  establishment  of  a  rich  and  influential  person,  a 
Pasha's  imposing  home.  In  a  compound  beside  the  palace 

iS7 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

pure  Arab  horses  stood  hobbled,  and  a  pack  of  desert 
hounds  leaped  up  at  my  approach.  In  a  cave  near  the 
palace  door  were  two  lean,  gray  lions.  Then  we  entered 
the  corridor  or  gate  to  the  harem.  We  had  talked  about 
horses,  dogs,  and  lions,  but  in  Arab  eyes  it  is  a  gross 
impertinence  to  ask  after  the  women  in  a  man's  family. 
Like  as  not  he  would  reply  that  the  "wretched  creatures 
are  barely  keeping  alive."  "We  walked  toward  the  door- 
way of  the  walled,  windowless  structure  wherein  the 
women  were  imprisoned,"  and  presently  her  "visions  of 
harem  life  as  pictured  in  toilet  soap  advertisements,  in- 
sipid maudlin  rot  slung  from  the  pens  of  space  writers" 
vanished.  She  found  that  even  "Pierre  Loti  had  juggled 
lightly  with  truth  in  his  harem  romance,  'Disenchanted/  ''' 
In  a  visit  to  a  harem  of  14  women  she  found  that  "most 
of  them  were  absolutely  commonplace,  some  even  stupid 
looking.  They  were  ignorant,  idle,  untidy,  and  cheaply 
dressed."  "In  all  the  year  I  spent  in  the  middle  east  I 
never  heard  of  an  Arab  woman  who  could  read  or  write. 
To  educate  a  woman  is  called  by  Bedouins  a  foolish  waste 
of  money."  As  usual  with  people  of  that  class  they 
seemed  anti  any  improvement  or  progress,  tho  there  was 
no  reason  under  Heaven  why  their  opinions  should  count 
one  way  or  another.* 

In  sharp  contrast  she  finds  that  "among  the  Bedouin 
women  of  the  nomad  class  the  ease  and  idleness  of  the 
harem  life  is  unknown."  "An  Arab  is  jealous  of  his  wife, 
but  in  the  desert  married  women  are  seldom  veiled,  and 
are  permitted  to  laugh  and  joke  with  other  men.  In  camp 
the  women  milk  the  camels,  grind  wheat  in  hand  mills, 
churn  butter  in  the  'sequilla,'  a  goat  skin  hung  from  a 

*  See  Appendix  G,  page  206. 

158 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

tripod  and  filled  with  sour  milk;  they  weave  cloth  from 
hair  and  fiber;  they  make  matting  from  date  leaves,  and 
are  always  busy.  While  the  Bedouin  woman  is  enjoying 
all  these  pleasing  domestic  pastimes,  her  husband  sits  in 
the  sand  before  the  tent  smoking."  "Useful  as  the 
Bedouin  wife  is  to  her  husband  and  the  tribe,  however, 
through  all  the  tribal  songs,  legends  and  poetry,  there 
runs  a  note  hostile  and  abusive  to  all  woman  kind.  They 
believe  that  among  all  other  animals  save  mankind,  the 
female  is  the  better/'  This  method  of  reasoning  would 
do  credit  to  the  Huns.  Mr.  Kipling  (and  some  others) 
think  they  are  all  alike,  and  true  to  (animal)  type ;  why 
such  hopeless  confusion  of  thought  on  this  subject;  (still 
confusion  of  thought  seems  to  be  the  rule  in  many 
human  methods  rather  than  the  exception.)  Why  then 
are  men  allowed  to  have  many  wives?  If  women  are  so 
bad  this  would  logically  be  a  doubtful  privilege;  but  it  is 
not  so  considered,  indeed  it  would  be  a  serious  matter  for 
England  (or  any  one)  to  interfere  with  this  "privilege", 
and  they  are  not  doing  it.  (It  is  true  that  many  of  our 
men  and  some  women,  more  than  emulate  them  and  still 
keep  within  the  law — a  noted  actor  being  a  notorious 
example;  words  are  inadequate.) 

These  women  seem  like  flies  in  the  hands  of  young 
children,  and  are  as  remorselessly  crushed  by  their  men. 
It  is  not  right  individually  and  a  wonderful  civilizing, 
healing,  and  economic  force  is  worse  than  wasted. 
How  long  Oh  Lord,  how  long ! 

In  the  sensual  state  which  passes  as  the  future  "para- 
dise" for  these  men,  each  is  to  be  attended  by  500 
beautiful  "houris"  (an  unconscious,  selfish  mental  con- 
fession of  total  depravity),  making  500  women  to  one 

159 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the 

man  in  Heaven,  which,  however,  speaks  well  for  the 
women;  and  if  as  these  men  pretend,  women  are  bad, 
such  a  proportion  would  scarcely  make  for  peace  or  hap- 
piness. An  intelligent  person  can  only  feel  contempt  and 
disgust  for  such  vagaries  of  shortsightedness  and  lack  of 
logic.  A  nation  (or  person)  rises  no  higher  than  its 
estimate  of  woman,  and  Heaven.  It  would  be  well  for 
all  to  take  notice  of  this  well  proven  and  oft  stated  fact. 

Doughty  in  his  work  on  Arabia  says:  (with  no  com- 
ment of  course)  "The  Arabs  are  contrary  to  womankind 
upon  whom  they  would  have  God's  curse";  again  we 
have  the  right  to  ask  why?  and  to  expect  an  answer  if  a 
truth  has  been  stated;  but  no  answer  would  be  forth- 
coming we  know;  proving  the  fallacy  of  the  statement. 

Douglas  Jerrold's  oft  quoted  and  jovial  mot,  "A  man 
who  has  a  wife  of  forty  wishes  she  was  like  a  banknote 
which  he  could  change  for  two  twenties,"  comes  near 
to  expressing  total  depravity,  and  has  a  color  of  mis- 
guided reality,  as  many  a  man  will  admit — with  startled 
chagrin,  we  hope.  Think  of  a  man  of  forty-five  or  fifty 
(as  per  this  mot),  with  two  wives  of  twenty  years,  and 
what  sort  of  a  position  does  this  give  the  wife?  Men 
arrange  affairs  so  that  it  is  considered  proper  for  a  man 
to  marry  a  woman  who  is  younger  than  he,  partly  because 
youth  is  more  tractable,  for  a  while  anyway.  Another 
favorite  joke  is  of  the  man  who  said:  "Yes,  my  wife  is 
dead;  I  really  got  so  I  almost  liked  her."  Full  many 
a  truth  is  spoken  in  jest.  Masculine  humor  is  not  always 
humorous,  but  often  pathetic  in  its  direction  and  limita- 
tions. But  man  will  be  glad  to  have  his  attention  called 
to  these  vagaries  of  statement,  which  are  really  false, 
though  hypnotic — not  true  to  life  at  all,  thank  God. 

160 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

Through  it,  however,  woman  has  suffered,  been  dis- 
credited, and  her  influence  weakened.  The  proverb  says : 
"The  price  of  a  virtuous  woman  is  far  above  rubies. 
The  heart  of  her  husband  can  safely  trust  in  her;  she 
will  do  him  good  and  not  evil,  all  the  days  of  her  life." 
Shakespeare  rightly  tells  woman  to  "Thank  Heaven  fast- 
ing for  a  good  man's  love."  These  sayings  can  be  ap- 
plied either  way,  with  truth;  and  I  have  faith  to  believe 
that  many  men  and  women  so  regard  them;  but  they 
are  not  the  ones  who  are  made  prominent  by  criminal 
courts ;  and  their  public  influence  is  thus  lessened.  Mrs. 
Eddy  rightly  says :  "Infidelity  to  the  marriage  covenant 
is  the  social  scourge  of  all  races."  The  commandment, 
"Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,"  is  no  less  imperative 
than  the  one,  "Thou  shalt  not  steal."  "The  sensualist's 
loves  are  as  whimsical  and  unreal  as  his  hates." 

And  now  let  us  turn  for  a  rest  to  Ruskin,  whose  ideal 
is  worth  consideration,  even  though  we  may  not  accept 
either  Ruskin's  or  Shakespeare's  apparent  estimate  of 
the  men.  In  "Sesame  and  Lilies"  Ruskin  says :  "Let  us 
try,  then,  whether  we  cannot  get  at  some  clear  and 
harmonious  idea  (it  must  be  harmonious  if  it  is  true) 
of  what  womanly  mind  and  virtue  are,  in  power  and 
office,  with  respect  to  man's;  and  how  their  relations, 
rightly  accepted,  aid  and  increase  the  vigor  and  honor 
and  authority  of  both.  Let  us  see  whether  the  greatest, 
the  wisest,  the  purest  hearted  of  all  ages,  are  agreed  in 
any  wise  on  this  point ;  let  us  hear  the  testimony  they  have 
left  respecting  what  they  held  to  be  the  true  dignity  of 
woman,  and  her  mode  of  help  to  man.  And  first  let  us 
take  up  Shakespeare. 


161 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

"Note  broadly  in  the  outset,  Shakespeare  has  no 
heroes;  he  has  only  heroines.  There  is  not  one  entirely 
heroic  figure  in  all  his  plays,  except  the  slight  sketch 
of  Henry  the  Fifth.  In  his  labored  and  perfect  plays 
Othello  is  the  only  example  even  approximating  the 
heroic  type.  Whereas  there  is  hardly  a  play  that  has 
not  a  perfect  woman  in  it,  steadfast  in  grave  hope  and 
erroiless  in  purpose;  Cordelia,  Desdemona,  Isabella, 
Hermione,  Imogen,  Queen  Katherine,  Perdita,  Sylvia, 
Viola,  Rosalind,  Helena,  and  last,  and  perhaps  loveliest, 
Virgilia,  are  all  faultless;  conceived  in  the  highest  types 
of  humanity.  Then  observe,  secondly,  the  catastrophe 
of  every  play  is  caused  always  by  the  folly  or  fault  of 
a  man;  the  redemption,  if  there  be  any,  is  by  the  wisdom 
and  virtue  of  a  woman.  The  catastrophe  of  King  Lear 
is  owing  to  his  want  of  judgment,  his  impatient  vanity, 
his  misunderstanding  of  his  children;  the  virtue  of  his 
one  true  daughter  would  have  saved  him  from  all  the 
injuries  of  the  others,  unless  he  had  cast  her  away  from 
him;  as  it  is,  she  all  but  saves  him. 

"In  'Romeo  and  Juliet'  the  wise  and  brave  stratagem 
of  the  wife  is  brought  to  ruinous  issue  by  the  reckless 
impatience  of  her  husband.  In  'Winter's  Tale'  and  in 
'Cymbeline'  the  happiness  and  existence  of  two  princely 
households,  lost  through  long  years,  and  imperiled  by  the 
folly  and  obstinacy  of  the  husbands,  are  redeemed  at 
last  by  the  queenly  patience  and  wisdom  of  the  wives. 
In  'Measure  for  Measure'  the  injustice  of  the  judge 
and  the  cowardice  of  the  brother  are  opposed  to  the 
victorious  truth  and  adamantine  purity  of  the  woman. 
In  'Coriolanus'  the  mother's  counsel,  acted  upon  in  time, 
would  have  saved  her  son.  And  what  shall  I  say  of  the 

162 


"They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

calmly  devoted  wisdom  of  the  'unlessoned  girl'  who  ap- 
pears as  a  gentle  angel  bringing  courage  and  safety  by 
her  presence  and  by  what  women  are  fancied  most  to  fail 
in — precision  and  accuracy  of  thought? 

"Such,  in  broad  light,  is  Shakespeare's  testimony  to 
the  position  and  character  of  women  in  human  life.  He 
represents  them  as  infallibly  faithful  and  wise  counsel- 
lors, incorruptibly  just  and  pure  examples,  strong  always 
to  sanctify,  even  when  they  cannot  save  .  .  ."  Ruskin 
next  reminds  of  Dante's  great  poem,  a  song  of  praise 
to  his  lady  Beatrice,  "his  teacher,  interpreting  for  him 
the  most  difficult  truths  and  leading  him  with  rebuke 
upon  rebuke  from  star  to  star."  Ruskin  continues: 
"Now  I  could  multiply  witness  upon  witness  of  this 
kind  if  I  had  time.  I  would  take  Chaucer  and  show 
you  why  he  wrote  a  Legend  of  Good  Women,  but  no 
Legend  of  Good  Men.  I  would  take  Spenser  and  show 
you  how  all  his  fairy  knights  are  sometimes  deceived  and 
sometimes  vanquished;  but  the  soul  of  Una  is  never 
darkened,  and  the  spear  of  Britomart  is  never  broken." 
Shakespeare  and  Ruskin  surely  call  women  to  high 
emprise.  "Dux  femina  facti" — a  woman  the  leader  of 
the  deed — has  long  stood  on  the  pages  of  literature,  in 
many  applications,  and  it  has  been  placed  there,  let  us 
remember,  by  the  pen  of  man  himself." 

Shakespeare,  as  would  be  expected,  had  the  good  sense 
as  well  as  good  taste  never  to  ridicule  woman,  love, 
religion,  or  priests.  It  would  be  well  had  all  men  fol- 
lowed his  example. 


163 


AFTERWORD 

THE  cabinet  maker  puts  neither  himself  nor  his 
idea  in  the  chair.  He  remains  intact  and  the 
idea  remains  in  his  mind,  perhaps  more  perfect 
than  its  manifestation ;  which  may  include  anything  from 
a  common  Windsor  chair  to  one  which  is  "a  thing  of 
beauty  and  a  joy  forever"  (according  to  his  ability  for 
conception,  or  to  the  demand  or  purpose  to  be  con- 
served). He  does  not  create  the  chair,  he  "forms"  it, 
as  "man"  was  said  to  be  "formed"  from  the  dust  of  the 
ground  (matter)  in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis,  which 
contradicts  the  first  account,  where  man  was  "created" 
male  and  female,  and  "made"  in  the  image  and  likeness 
of  Spirit,  God.  Then  man  is  spiritual.  "The  carnal 
mind  is  enmity  with  God"  and  that  is  all  there  is  of  it. 

We  are  said  to  be  the  image  and  likeness  or  reflection 
of  God,  the  express  image  of  God's  person,  God's  image 
expressed  (the  word  image  is  also  translated  character, 
and  reflection  may  mean  thought).  Here  neither  the 
Master  (or  Creator)  nor  the  idea,  is  put  in  the  body; 
but  remains  in  mind,  God,  perfect  and  beautiful;  while 
the  actual  bodies  which  we  see  are  not  as  we  know, 
beautiful,  pure,  holy,  or  perfect  (and  so  healthful)  even 
as  Plato  says. 

Truth  is  appreciated  slowly.  "Plato  believed  that  cor- 
responding to  every  common  noun  there  is  a  real,  perfect, 
eternal  being;  for  the  highest  noun  there  is  a  highest 
being.  These  he  calls  ideas — not  using  the  word  in  the 
sense  we  ordinarily  use  it.  The  highest  idea  is  Man 
(generic).  These  ideas  he  thought  pure,  but  the  actual 

164 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

thing  we  see,  only  imperfect  copies,  and  not  pure,  holy, 
or  beautiful."  Could  we  see  poem  or  picture  and  its 
coloring,  hear  the  music  in  the  mind,  of  poet,  artist,  or 
composer,  or  see  the  real  man  and  woman  with  the  eye 
of  mind,  we  could  then  realize  the  meaning  of  Plato's 
words,  even  more  clearly  than  he  did,  and  see  God — 
for  we  should  be  like  Him,  and  pure  in  heart. 

And  now  I  believe  I  know  how  one  feels  who,  through 
difficulty,  by  overcoming  hindrance  after  hindrance, 
throwing  off  all  that  is  unnecessary,  at  last  shakes  him- 
self free;  breathless  and  glad  at  the  North  Pole,  or  on 
Himalayan  heights.  And  I  am  sure  I  see  over  into  the 
promised  land.  I  have  clarified  my  own  vision,  proved 
my  point,  and  tacked  it  to  earth.  It  is  all  impersonal 
and  cannot  be  affected  by  praise  or  blame.  Some  may 
choose  to  term  what  they  cannot  appreciate,  "vacuous 
ideals."  (When  have  ideals  ever  been  vacuous?)  But 
that,  thank  God,  cannot  crucify  the  Truth,  nor  the 
truth  teller,  in  this  day  and  age.  Shall  we  not  let  the 
male  and  female  of  God's  (not  man's)  creating  appear? 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is  thus  summed 
up  by  the  great  modern  woman  writer  and  teacher, 
Mrs.  Eddy:  "Chastity  is  the  cement  of  civilization  and 
progress;  without  it  there  is  no  stability  in  society." 
"Marriage  is  the  legal  and  moral  provision  for  generation 
among  human  kind.  Until  the  spiritual  creation  is  dis- 
cerned intact,  marriage  will  continue,  subject  to  such 
moral  regulations  as  will  secure  increasing  virtue." 

You  will  understand  that  this  has  not  been  written 
with  thought  of  material  reward,  but  of  necessity.  The 
reward,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  has  already  come  in 
full  measure;  the  line  taken  has  helped  and  lifted  me 

165 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

above  the  petty  things  of  life;  why  should  it  not  be  of 
use  to  others.  This  is  incentive  enough.  No  one  could 
criticize  the  form  more  severely  than  I,  who  have  found 
that  to  handle  the  thought  (which  is  tremendous)  at 
all,  has  taxed  my  physical  strength.  I  have  attempted 
to  clothe  it  wholesomely,  but  not  elaborately ;  not  feeling 
myself  justified  in  doing  otherwise;  when  writing  for 
busy  people;  those  who  are  doing  all  they  can  at  all 
times ;  as  I  have  done. 

Of  course,  these  may  be  intellectual  heavyweights. 
The  average  mind  is  more  easily  impressed  with  the 
strong  man  in  the  circus,  tossing  with  seeming  ease  his 
material  heavy  weights;  he  has  there  some  standard  by 
which  to  judge;  some  knowledge  of  the  training  it  takes 
to  attain,  and  is  correspondingly  impressed.  I  have 
spoken  as  I  have  seen  and  have  tried  to  take  a  fair, 
comprehensive,  and  unprejudiced  view.  I  can  readily  see 
how  easy  it  will  be  to  say,  It  is  nothing;  and  can  ap- 
preciate that  side  fully.  But,  "What  if  a  single  Aliph 
were  the  clew  to  the  treasure  house,  and  to  the  master, 
too?"  Do  the  Bible,  Life,  and  Science  teach  us  in  vain? 

I  know  it  all  sounds  much  like  heresy,  but  is  it?  Or  is 
it  only  a  phase  of  life  which  has  been  neglected?  It  is 
really  a  letter  to  friends  and  asks  for  answering  thought. 
That  the  spirit  of  fairness,  earnestness,  and  sympathy 
is  as  evident  as  it  is  sincere,  is  to  be  hoped.  Much  of 
it  will  be  understood  to  be  a  generalization,  a  vision  of 
the  ultimate.  The  process  through  which  it  is  to  be 
reached  is  quite  a  different  thing;  and  here  again,  for 
the  present,  we  reach  a  limit  of  the  average  thought. 

While  the  least  of  the  disciples,  I  seem  to  have  followed 

166 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

such  masters  as  Richter,  in  using  analogy  and  compari- 
son, and  Goethe,  in  arrangement  and  combination. 

"Kepler  and  Goethe  used  the  a  priori  method  of 
reasoning;  they  looked  on  nature  from  the  heights,  but 
seeing  or  fancying  they  saw  something  on  the  plains, 
descended  at  once  to  verify  the  truth  of  observation.  A 
bright  and  brilliant  instrument  .  .  .  it  will  cut 
deeply  into  truth  if  rightly  used."  Lewes. 

In  solving  the  problem  of  the  value  and  necessity  (or 
lack  of  it)  of  set  and  prescribed  form,  where  must  we 
place  the  battle  for  freedom  from  it  (in  all  ways)  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  century  just  passed;  Lincoln, 
Gladstone,  Darwin,  Mrs.  Browning,  Chopin,  Schumann, 
Mendelssohn,  with  those  who  were  born  in  the  years  fol- 
lowing, or  preceding  1809;  which  Wagner,  the  most 
prominent  example,  sanctions  in  its  excesses.  (May 
Browning  be  considered  its  exponent  in  literature.) 
Surely  they  have  accomplished  something.  Was  theirs 
not  the  work  of  the  reformation  over  again;  fighting 
the  same  evils  with  different  weapons?  One  is  indeed 
thankful  for  being  shielded  through  their  unselfishness 
and  suffering  from  the  brunt  of  narrow  criticism;  which 
really  has  no  standard,  but  which  sees  an  opportunity 
for  egotistical,  energyless  sticking  of  pins,  here  and 
there;  an  unusual  expression.  Attempting  thus  to  cover 
a  positive  lack  of  intellectual  understanding  of  the  text 
from  which  they  might  learn  something,  if  energetic 
enough.  The  pioneers  in  this  direction  have  done  their 
work  well,  martyrs  though  many  of  them  have  been  to 
this  same  wilful  or  blind  narrowness,  which  we  see  in 
evidence  at  this  day,  though  with  its  venom  and  power 

167 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

to  sting  weakened,  through  the  courage  and  strength  of 
these  heroes  of  the  past. 

One  is  in  a  measure  safe  if,  in  any  experience  no 
matter  how  trying,  he  can  get  outside  himself,  look  upon 
it  as  the  experience  of  another,  and  wonder  what  will 
happen  next.  The  things  that  seem  most  important  to  us, 
often  are  not  so ;  and  we  can  afford  to  take  this  attitude 
toward  them.  You  may  think  this  does  not  show  a 
proper  spirit,  but  I  think  it  will  be  found  to  be  the  proper 
spirit.  There  need  be  nothing  abject  or  hypocritical 
about  it:  it  is  a  position  full  of  dignity.  We  have  no 
need  for  resentment,  but  for  patience  we  have  great 
need.  The  question  should  not  be,  How  does  any  given 
thing  affect  little  me  ?  but,  How  does  it  affect  humanity  ? 
Only  thus  can  poise,  the  key  of  repose,  be  gained,  "the 
C  major  of  this  life."  Would  Goethe's  "  'Tis  feeling 
all,  name  is  but  sound  and  sense,  enclouding  heaven's 
glow,"  indicate  that  he  had  seen  far  into  the  future,  and 
solved  the  problem  of  formalities?  This  may  be  a  part 
of  that  for  which  we  are  all  groping,  an  effort  to  find 
where  we  really  stand.  What  is  truth?  What  shall  we 
do  that  all  may  be  saved? 

Not  until  many  a  good,  earnest  woman  had  said  to 
me:  "This  is  just  what  I  have  thought,  but  lacked 
courage,  energy,  leisure,  or  means  to  express  it;  we 
have  needed  some  one  to  express  it  for  us,"  did  I  decide 
to  put  all  this  into  semi-permanent  form.  The  grief 
and  suffering  in  the  world,  as  seen  on  every  hand  (by 
those  who  do  not  selfishly  blind  themselves,  refusing 
to  see),  has  so  impressed  me  that  my  sympathy  has 
taken  the  active  form  of  an  endeavor  to  know  why 
these  things  are,  what  underlies  them,  and  wherein  is 

168 


"  They  Shall  Know  Themselves  Into  One" 

the  remedy.  As  usual,  I  find  it  right  at  hand,  the  most 
obvious  of  all  things.  Truly,  self-control,  the  stone 
which  the  builders  have  refused  to  consider,  is  the  head- 
stone of  the  corner.  Pouring  water  through  a  sieve, 
as  has  seemed  our  past  method,  may  be  good  exercise 
in  benevolence,  and  has  its  value;  but  has  it  availed,  is 
it  really  practical?  Is  there  not  more  poverty,  crime, 
sorrow,  and  sickness  than  ever  before?  Let  us  not  hesi- 
tate longer,  and  let  us  begin  where  we  should:  with 
self-control.  Any  Bible  student  will  recall  many  force- 
ful texts  on  overcoming!  What?  What  else  but  self, 
exercising  self-control?  "He  that  overcometh  shall 
inherit  all  things."  Rev.  xxi,  7.  See  also  Rev.  ii,  7, 
n,  17,  26,  Rev.  iii,  5,  12,  21,  and  many  others.  To  a 
Christian  this  must  be  significant. 

"Love  took  up  the  harp  of  Life,  and  smote  on  all 
the  chords  with  might.  Smote  the  chord  of  self,  that, 
trembling,  passed  in  music  out  of  sight." 


VAGARIES  OF  NIETZSCHE 

The  vagaries  of  Friedrich  Nietzsche  from  a  woman's 
standpoint;  general  reference  to  his  views  regarding 
women  and  Christianity,  as  expressed  in  his  various  writ- 
ings; their  bearing  and  effect  on  the  Germans,  and  on 
present  world  conditions;  with  a  partial  refutation  of 
them. 

For  many  years  I  have  been  much  concerned  about  the 
way  in  which  the  writings  of  Nietzsche  were  influencing 
the  people  of  the  world.  It  has  seemed  to  me  a  very 
serious  and  dangerous  thing  and  I  have  given  much  time 
and  research  work  to  the  task  of  helping  to  counteract 
this  pernicious  pro-German  teaching.  The  following  is 
the  result  of  this  original  and  earnest  effort.  I  offer  it  as 
a  part  of  my  patriotic  work;  and  feel  that  I  have  done 
what  I  could  in  this  particular  line.  I  have  not  spared 
effort  in  the  writing  of  it,  and  every  position  taken  has 
been  verified,  and  is  unquestionable. 

During  the  winter  of  1910-11,  spent  on  the  Continent,  I 
said  that  some  terrible  calamity  was  coming  to  those  coun- 
tries ;  I  wondered  if  England  would  get  through  the  Coro- 
nation and  Durbar.  In  our  own  country  we  appeared  to 
me  like  people  in  a  small  boat,  laughing  and  waving  our 
hands  on  the  verge  of  Niagara.  You  may  imagine  that  I 
am  in  earnest  in  any  work  which  may  prove  to  be  a  stone 
in  the  barrier  to  save  us  from  the  extreme  of  disaster. 

Any  one  who  read  the  notable  article  in  the 
'Atlantic'  for  June,  1917,  written  by  the  American  wife  of 


170 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


a  German-American,  will  be  better  able  to  understand 
somewhat  of  how  the  study  of  Nietzsche  irrationalizes  the 
mind  of  the  student,  I  believe  in  every  case.  If  the  mind 
of  Nietzsche  was  unsettled  to  insanity  by  his  own  con- 
clusions, as  it  was;  naturally  other  minds  would  be 
abnormally  unsettled  by  them. 

Whom  false  gods  destroy  they  first  make  mad. 

One  sees  with  astonishment  that  the  doctrines  of  a  man 
whose  teaching  is  commonly  summed  up  by  the  phrase 
"Might  makes  right"  (still  further  condensed  into  the 
words  "Be  Hard"  with  all  its  implications)  are  at  this 
day,  when  we  are  supposed  to  have  made  some  advance 
in  the  theory  and  practice  of  brotherhood,  considered  at 
all  important  by  some  of  our  so  called  leaders  of  thought; 
but  that  they  are  so  considered  and  endorsed  seems  to  be 
the  case. 

That  the  teaching  of  Nietzsche  is  largely  affecting 
modern  action  cannot  be  doubted.  That  this  is  not 
realized  and  the  teaching  controverted  as  it  should  be  is 
also  beyond  doubt.  He  was  an  unfortunate,  who  should 
be  pitied  but  not  exalted  or  emulated.  With  his  wonder- 
ful mind,  reasoning  ability  and  power  of  expression,  he 
saw  through  the  well  meaning  but  partially  misguided 
general  teaching  of  the  "culture  Philistine"  of  the  present 
day,  and  also  he  saw,  as  have  many  of  our  clearest 
thinkers,  the  utter  inconsistency  of  the  teaching  that  has 
been  offered  for  our  guidance,  and  the  resultant  wide  gulf 
between  our  ideals  and  their  practical  realization. 

What  neither  he  nor  they  see  is  that  this  same  teaching 
is  made  up  from  all  the  theories  of  man ;  Pantheism,  Fatal- 
ism, Oriental  Philosophy,  Buddhism,  Neo-Platonism,  Mil- 
tonian  Old  Theology,  etc.,  etc.,  it  is,  by  those  to  whom  it  is 

171 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

new,  called  the  New  or  Modern  thought ;  when  it  has  not 
a  vestige  of  the  New  (Old)  thought,  the  Christus  or 
Truth  which  is  now  regenerating  the  world  and  causing 
impurities  to  rise  to  the  surface  in  intense  manifestation. 
Not  that  the  vast  majority  have  read  Nietzsche,  but  that 
many  of  the  most  noted  writers  and  leaders  have,  and  so 
through  approving  reference  and  quotation  it  is  sifted 
through  to  the  masses,  who  are  helpless  before  this  most 
insidious  and  effective  "German  propaganda." 

A  noted  modern  writer  says :  "In  Europe  Nietzsche's 
gospel  of  desperation,,  the  beyond  man,  etc.,  has  deeply 
influenced  the  Paris  Apache,  the  Italian  futurist  littera- 
teur, the  Russian  Revolutionary.  Nietzsche's  books  are 
full  of  seductions  and  sugar  plums;  they  have  made 
'aristocrats'  of  people  who  would  otherwise  have  been 
only  mild  snobs  or  meddlesome  prigs ; — and  they  have 
made  an  overman  of  every  vulgarly  energetic  grocer  in 
Europe." 

That  any  thoughtful  person  should  subscribe  to 
doctrines  taught  by  a  man  who  says  that  "God  is  dead" ! ! 
(Such  an  absurdity  of  expression.  If  God  were  dead 
there  could  be  no  life.  Anyone  who  fancies  that  God  or 
good  is  dead,  might  as  well  give  up  further  effort,  as  even 
if  life  without  God — good — were  possible,  it  would  not  be 
desirable,  would  it?)  and  who  violently  attacks  "Chris- 
tianity," "Truth,"  as  Nietzsche  does,  calling  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  "a  set  of  neurotics,"  blaming  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ  for  all  the  trouble  in  the  world,  calling  God 
"the  most  immoral  of  all,"  is  all  but  incomprehensible.* 

*He  has  no  good  word  to  say  for  anyone,  he  fairly  rails 
about  every  noted  person  of  whom  he  speaks — and  he  refers 
to  many.  All  are  wrong  from  his  point  of  view — which  is 
thus  invalidated  in  regard  to  all.  His  much  discussed  doctrine  of 

172 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


Says  Nietzsche :  If  Jesus  had  not  taught  that  certain  things 
were  wrong  we  should  be  able  to  do  them  without  harm 
(to  wallow  in  iniquity  as  it  were),  when  we  know  that 
Jesus  only  tried  to  forewarn  the  world  of  what  was  sure 
to  follow  if  certain  practices  were  continued.  He  met 
the  fate  which  is  usually  meted  out  to  reformers.  How- 
ever the  world  is  improving  in  this  respect;  which  is 
encouraging. 

It  is  high  time  for  us  to  realize  that  the  word  "Christos" 
means  "The  Truth/'  (which  is  immortal).  If  when  the 
word  Christ  is  used  you  substitute  the  word  Truth  giving 
it  its  full  significance  you  will  get  the  proper  meaning; 
any  derivative  of  the  word  has  the  same  bearing. 

Almost  anyone  can  estimate  the  result  of  opposing  the 
Truth. 

"The  Christ"  was  not  a  semi  mortal  man  but  "The 
Truth"  which  Jesus — The  Man — lived  in  its  fullness, 
thus  becoming  immortal,  "the  Savior"  pointed  the  way 
for  us  to  be  saved,  or  immortalized. 

Hudson  in  his  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena  states  that 
the  insistency  of  Jesus  on  Faith  or  belief  as  a  necessary 
component  of  immortality  works  out  in  the  law  of  sug- 
gestion (or  affirmation).  If  you  have  faith,  or  believe  in 
immortality,  you  constantly  affirm  it,  and  so  through  the 
law  of  cause  and  effect  become  immortal.  "As  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he."  On  the  other  hand  if 
you  call  yourself  an  Atheist,  you  lose  your  chance  of  im- 
mortality by  denying  it.  In  this  light  we  can  see  how 
Nietzsche  committed  mental  suicide,  or  insanity,  through 
his  expressed  attitude  toward  Christianity. 

the  "Eternal  Return" — is  so  simple  and  improvable  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  more  than  mention  it  in  these  pages. 

173 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

Nietzsche  witnessed,  from  an  entirely  material  stand- 
point, the  pouring  out  of  the  vials  of  wrath;  that  is,  the 
human  mind  was  uncovered  to  its  depths  before  him,  but 
he  received  not  at  the  same  time  the  vision  of  the  Bride, 
the  Lamb's  wife;  i.  e.,  the  ideal  condition.  His  mind 
reeled  and  reason  was  dethroned  before  the  awful  abyss ; 
in  which  he  lost  sight  of  Love  or  spiritual  reality ;  even  as 
Hamlet's  mind  gave  way  when  he  confronted  the  same 
situation,  revealed  to  him  through  the  storied  incident  of 
his  mother's  action;  which  while  lawful,  was  a  fall  from 
grace;  of  a  kind  much  more  common  among  men  than 
women  however,  if  we  admit  the  evidence  of  recorded 
everyday  conditions.  It  is  more  shocking,  as  Shakes- 
peare's genius  realized,  when  portrayed  as  a  woman's 
deed  because  it  is  not  so  common  for  woman  to  betray 
idealism  in  matters  of  primal  importance. 

That  many  theorize  vaguely  about  it  and  do  not  honor 
it  in  practice  does  not  change  the  fact. 

Nietzsche  attempted  with  his  finite  mind  to  outline 
Deity  and  Heaven,  or  ultimate  Harmony — a  dangerous 
attempt  as  there  is  and  can  be  no  finite  or  material  har- 
mony. Has  any  mere  mortal  ever  been  conscious  of 
absolute  of  even  near  harmony.  Always,  if  he  is  honest 
with  himself,  he  must  acknowledge  the  uncertainty  of 
continuance  of  any  mortal  (or  dying)  condition;  and 
after  that,  what?  Only  death,  which  can  never  honestly 
be  called  a  harmonious  experience,  but  is  likely  to  be 
catastrophic,  led  up  to  by  suffering  and  sorrow. 

And  yet  one  of  the  favorite  theories  of  Nietzsche  is  that 
Christianity,  through  fostering  asylums,  hospitals,  and  car- 
ing for  the  unfortunate  generally,  has  done  inestimable 
harm  to  the  world  and  to  posterity.  The  weak  should  be 

174 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


exterminated  as  only  the  physically  fit  should  survive.  To 
refute  this  one  has  only  to  recall  the  influence  of  Adam 
Smith,  J.  A.  Symonds,  Mrs.  Browning,  George  Eliot, 
Keats,  Stevenson,  with  hosts  of  others  of  delicate  phy- 
sique, and  contrast  them  with  Corbett,  Sullivan,  Jack 
Johnson  and  others  of  their  class,  whose  perfect  physical 
development  is  evident  and  is  their  only  strength. 

Nietzsche  says  (in  a  letter  to  George  Brandes,  the 
noted  Danish  critic  and  lecturer)  that  his  last  book 
"Ecce  Homo"  is  "an  attack  on  the  crucified  without  res- 
ervation" ;  and  adds,  "I  swear  to  you  within  two  years  we 
shall  have  the  whole  world  in  convulsions,  I  am  a  fate." 
This  was  in  1888 ;  soon  he  was  in  convulsions  himself  in 
a  mad  house,  poor  soul ;  and  false  teaching  has  to  answer 
for  another  brilliant  intellect  worse  than  lost  to  the  world. 
He  died  in  1900  and  it  is  only  recently,  about  1913,  that 
his  heirs  have  brought  out  the  book  spoken  of,  in  an  edi- 
tion de  luxe  for  subscribers  in  Berlin.  Well,  Germany  is 
surely  convulsed  (1914-1918)  and  has  taken  wide  swathes 
with  her. 

Is  not  his  prophecy  of  a  world  in  convulsions  within  two 
years  after  his  last  book  was  published,  being  fulfilled? 
The  blasphemous  ideas  which  manifested  as  insanity  in 
Nietzsche,  are  they  not  now  appearing  in  his  fol- 
lowers ?  Even  though  he  repudiates  the  Germans,  calling 
himself  a  Pole,  and  wishing  for  the  Germans  and  their 
Emperor  all  sorts  of  trouble  because  they  did  not  recog- 
nize and  appreciate  him  earlier  in  time  or  until  their 
attention  was  called  to  him  by  Brandes,  and  through 
Brandes  to  French  and  Russian  admirers. 

The  present  war  seems  to  be  the  immediate  result  of 
Napoleon's  performances  and  system  summed  up  into  a 
ruin  working  quasi  (or  crazy)  philosophy  by  Nietzsche. 

175 


Taking  "Forth  thitPrecious  From  the  Vile' 

On  reflection  one  might  judge  Napoleon  Bonaparte  to 
symbolize  the  "god  of  war"  for  the  present  age.  His  im- 
posing tomb  in  Paris  is  the  shrine  at  which  our  soldier 
men,  at  least,  pay  first  homage  on  reaching  Paris.  They 
seem  to  offer  there  much  mental  incense  if  they  do  not 
offer  prayers.  What  reasonable  claim  has  he  to  be  even 
humanly  immortalized,  except  through  utter  perversion 
of  right.* 

This  marches  so  well  with  the  sacrilegious  claims  of 
William  II  to  be  divine  and  infallible  and  to  stand  in  God's 
confidence  and  stead;  which  by  the  immutable  law  of 
cause  and  effect  must  end  in  his  own  undoing.  Herod  of 
old  received  dire  punishment  for  not  rebuking  the  people 
who  acclaimed  him  as  God.  Paul  and  Barnabas  were 
rightly  much  shocked  and  tried ;  and  they  rebuked  sharply 

*See  Appendix  H,  page  207. 

fThe  Huns  (notably  the  Crown  Prince  and  Nietzsche),  just 
naturally  do  him  reverence,  and  one  fancies  that  while  hospitals 
and  churches  are  ravaged  by  their  bombs,  his  tomb  is  spared. 
One  can  but  feel  that  if  that  spot  were  touched,  perhaps  the  rest  of 
the  city  might  be  saved.  As  long  as  it  remains  an  object  of 
adoration,  prayers  for  justice  may  react  to  the  danger  of  the  city, 
which  is  known  to  be  the  source  of  much  that  is  objectionable  in 
life  and  literature. 

That  our  men  make  pilgrimages  to  Napoleon's  tomb  I 
think  must  be  due  to  hypnotic  influence.  I  give  them  credit 
for  admiring  and  making  a  hero  of  Lafayette,  who  was  a  true 
idealist  and  patriot.  General  Pershing's  expression,  "Lafay- 
ette, we  are  here,"  was  one  of  the  truly  great  utterances  of 
this  war.  Lord  Kitchener's  direction  to  his  men:  "Be  cour- 
teous to  women,  and  no  more  than  courteous,"  reaching  the 
acme  of  refined  expression,  was  another  which  deserves  to 
go  down  in  history,  and  to  be  taken  to  heart. 

Thomas  a  Becket  long  ago  said:  "Be  not  familiar  with  any 
woman,  but  in  general  commend  all  good  women  to  God," 
the  same  refined  expression,  tho  with  slightly  different  word- 
ing, which  goes  to  prove  that  there  have  been  men  in  all 
times,  thank  God,  who  were  high  minded  enough  to  see  and 
stand  for  the  evident  right.  Will  we  ever  make  these  truths 
practical?  i.  e.,  make  good  (God)  manifest  in  the  flesh. 

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Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


this  same  desire  on  the  part  of  the  populace  to  exalt  them. 
What  may  we  expect  to  be  the  fate  of  one  who  apparently 
makes  this  claim  for  himself,  without  waiting  to  be 
acclaimed  ?  Has  he  gone  on  too  rapidly ;  missed  steps  in 
his  initiation ;  met  the  "Guardian  of  the  Threshold,"  only 
to  be  vanquished  for  or  by  his  over  confidence  ?  It  seems 
as  if  it  might  be  possible  to  be  "too  bold."* 

In  his  estimate  of  woman  also,  Nietzsche  (still  Le  Code 
Napoleon)  shows  that  he  is  blinded  by  man  made  and  con- 
trolled appearances  and  does  not  see  beneath  the  surface. 
He  considers  woman  a  chattel ;  as  the  property  of  man ;  his 
house,  his  wife,  his  woman;  says  that  the  family  exists, 
that  man  may  be  a  monarch;  (even  a  young  child  could 
and  would  rebel  at  and  controvert  this)  that  we  should 
return  to  the  oriental  idea,  and  woman  to  the  harem.  Poor 
man,  he  does  not  see  that  only  the  complete  liberation  and 
companionship  of  woman  will  free  such  as  he  from  his 
crushing  limitations.  He  is  like  the  bee  which  if  confined 
to  a  glass  tube  with  one  end  closed  and  turned  to  the  light 
and  the  other  end  opened,  will  wear  itself  out  in  trying  to 
get  through  the  glass  rather  than  turn  around  and  walk  out 
free  in  another  direction. 

Trying  to  find  the  superman  in  a  mortal  he  fails,  so 
tragically.  The  superman  (including  woman)  is  spiritual 
and  is  with  us  now ;  "yesterday,  today  and  forever,"  and  is 
very  far  from  the  "German  Baron"fwithwhom  the  Junker 

*See  page  184. 

tit  is  well  known  that  noted  Germans  speak  of  all  below  this 
rank  as  "servants,"  thus  putting  a  sad  handicap  on  the  masses 
of  their  people  who  are  forced  to  accept  this  classification, 
and  naturally  are  thus  accepted  by  others,  so  a  race  of  ser- 
vants has  been  evolved.  Mesmer  was  a  German,  and  the 
German  people  are  an  example  to  us  of  the  effects  of  mes- 
merism, or  hypnotism,  in  its  absolute  viciousness;  there  can 
be  no  real  good  in  it;  in  all  cases  it  may  be  likened  to  a 

177 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  File' 

class  agreeing  with  Nietzsche  says  "Manhood  begins" 
and  in  whom  they  behold  the  superman.  Superbad  he  has 
certainly  proven  himself  to  be.  The  "Super-man  bug"  is 
as  busy  as  it  is  dangerous  to  the  man  or  nation  whom  it 
obsesses.  They  are  not  confined  to  one  class  or  nation 
either,  at  this  time.  Nietzsche  wrote  books  in  ten  days' 
time  and  they  bear  the  evidence  of  undigested  thought. 
It  needs  must  be  that  offenses  come,  but  woe  to  him 
through  whom  they  come,  is  a  sure  prophecy  and  hard 
saying. 

Close  students  of  world  conditions  have  long  been  aware 
that  Germany  is  and  has  been  a  much  overrated  nation. 
The  most  reliable  observers  say  that  we  have  in  our 
country  places  of  instruction  of  far  greater  value  than  has 
Germany.  It  stands  to  reason  that  this  should  be  true. 
Their  University  courses  are  shorter  and  degrees  more 
easily  and  cheaply  obtained  than  they  are  in  England  or 
America;  and  that  may  be  the  reason  for  their  greater 
popularity.  That  so  many  of  our  young  men  have 
resorted  to  them  may  account  for  the  Nietzschean 
influence  and  pro-German  spirit,  which  is  recognized  as 
being  rather  prominent  in  our  institutions  of  learning  and 
is  giving  us  pause  and  trouble  because  we  blindly  do  not 
recognize  it  for  what  it  is ;  and  it  may  have  a  bad  influence 
on  the  quality  of  our  degrees,  which  it  seems  (with  those 
of  Germany)  are  not  accepted  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge. 

soothing  syrup  which  lulls  its  victims  into  a  false  peace, 
when  their  last  state  is  worse  than  the  first.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  it  is  widely  taught  and  used  at  the  present  time. 
"No  fountain  sends  forth  both  sweet  waters  and  bitter,"  you 
understand.  In  no  case  can  it  be  right;  often  the  results  are 
fiendish,  witness  reports  of  mysterious  crimes,  in  the  daily  papers. 
Those  who  yield  themselves  to  it,  even  tho  unconsciously, 
are  likely  to  find  themselves  in  a  serious  situation.  Another 
of  Germany's  vaunted  discoveries  proven  a  perversion  of 
right. 

178 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


A  noted  American  physician  has  recently  stated  that 
our  young  men  gain  little  or  nothing  through  their  medical 
studies  in  Germany,  the  Germans  being  so  callously  brutal 
in  their  treatment  of  patients,  only  harm  can  come  to  our 
students  from  being  with  them.  One  has  only  to  refer 
to  German  text  books  to  know  that  the  youth  of  that 
country  have  been,  and  are  being  taught  the  rankest  of 
untruths ;  autocractically  "made  in  Berlin" — a  poor  foun- 
dation for  education  -and  culture ;  and  estimates  show  that 
mainly  through  excessive  (though  humanly  logical)  zeal 
and  severity  in  their  schools,  suicides  among  German  chil- 
dren are  startlingly  common,  while  in  this  country  they 
are  notable  for  their  scarcity ;  certainly  something  for  us 
to  rejoice  over,  as  showing  an  improvement  at  least,  over 
Hun  methods,  while  still  far  from  perfect. 

In  Germany  no  boy  over  ten  years  old  is  allowed  to  be 
taught  in  school  by  a  woman;  and  the  mothers  of  these 
boys  are  discredited.  The  frightful  conditions  of  the 
present  war  thus  became  a  possibility  and  fact. 

The  result  can  scarcely  be  called  an  unqualified  success 
by  the  rankest  allied  or  neutral  opposer  of  feminine 
influence.  Still  a  Kipling  is  moved  and  allowed  without 
protest  from  men  to  call  Germany  "a  female  nation/' 
One  supposes  because  in  Germany  women  are  entirely 
suppressed  and  the  war  is  fought  and  engineered  by  men — 
peculiar  reasoning. 

That  "hate  is  a  boomerang,"  and  "curses  like  chickens 
come  home  to  roost,"  has  been  proven  true  too  often  to 
be  disregarded.  Germany's  orgy  of  expressed  hate,  and 
campaign  of  fright  fulness,  must  bring  retribution  in  its 
train  and  on  the  heads  of  the  perpetrators.  We  have,  in 

179 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

company  with  other  nations,  generously  given  Germany 
high  praise,  but  Germany  instead  of  returning  the  compli- 
ment and  looking  for  good  in  others  has  greedily  claimed 
everything  conceded,  and  given  no  one  else  credit  for  any- 
thing. She  has  drunk  too  freely  of  self  flattery,  as 
well  as  of  beer,  and  it  has  turned  her  head  and  heart.  The 
term  "Nouveau  riche"  seems  very  apt  and  is  often  used  in 
describing  the  situation. 

Germany  claims  much  in  music,  but  are  not  the 
"greatest  of  these"  Jews  and  Slavs,  and  their  music  not 
of  German  inspiration  (and  so  need  not  be  patriotically 
tabu  on  our  programs)  ?  Many  valuable  ideas  which 
originated  in  other  countries  were  adopted  and  adapted 
through  German  industry  and  patience,  as  is  well  known. 

The  Germans  claim  Shakespeare,  because  they  say 
"they  appreciate  him  more  than  do  the  English  and  the 
Americans" ;  and  so  he  is  more  nearly  akin  to  them.  This 
view  comes  from  egotistic,  surface  thinking,  as  can  be 
shown.  The  English  speaking  races  are  "brought  up"  on 
Shakespeare,  so  to  speak.  No  wonder  that  when  the 
appreciation  comes  to  cultured  Germans,  in  mature  life, 
they  are  thrilled.  But  what  of  the  racial  mentality  which 
blossoms  in  and  is  permeated  by  such  ideas.  We  are  all, 
by  this  time,  so  accustomed  to  a  sort  of  mental  twist  in  the 
German  method  of  reasoning  that  we  almost  cease  to  be 
astonished. 

Many  of  us  are  familiar  with  the  statement  and  agree 
as  to  its  truth,  that  "when  the  human  mind  attempts  to 
carry  out  any  of  its  ideas  to  a  logical  conclusion  it  runs 
against  an  absurdity!"  "Extremes  are  always  absurd," 
is  a  maxim.  This  can  be  easily  illustrated  with  present 
conditions  and  proven  true.  The  German  situation  is  an 

180 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


object  lesson  of  this  order.  They  appear  to  have  taken 
ideas  of  system,  order,  obedience,  patience,  industry,  etc., 
and  carried  them,  through  a  mistaken  process,  to  a  con- 
clusion, which  is  mechanical — soulless.  So  too  their  openly 
practised  plans  of  promiscuous  sex  mating  for  the  pur- 
pose of  repopulating  the  country,  etc.,  are  hideously  logi- 
cal, if  human  beings  are  animals,  as  many  seem  to  contend. 

Also  if  war  is  a  panacea  for  wrong  conditions,  and  many 
assert  that  it  is:  (o'ne  of  our  most  noted  men  [quoting 
Ruskin  without  credit]  was  applauded  for  saying  in  an 
address  to  Oxford  students  in  1911 :  "Great  Nations  are 
born  in  War  and  expire  in  Peace")*  then  the  only  logi- 
cal process  would  be  to  make  war  as  warlike  and  hellish 
as  possible,  and  so  shorten  and  make  it  more  effective, 
as  the  Germans  have  attempted  to  do.  We  see  the 
hideous  absurdity  of  this,  and  yet  must  acknowledge  its 
"logic."  We  are  told  in  the  scriptures  to  be  of  one 
mind,  but  it  is  to  be  the  mind  that  is  in  Christ,  Truth. 
The  Germans  are  of  one  mind,  the  un-true  mind,  and 
very  far  from  the  mind  referred  to. 

They  are,  as  we  all  feel,  still  living  as  if  in  old  Testa- 
ment times,  and  the  events  which  were  given  us  as  a 
warning  as  to  what  not  to  do,  they  are  taking  as  examples 
of  what  to  do.  To  such  confusion  of  thought  has  their 
material  logic  brought  them.  It  is  notable  that  while  the 
Germans  have  much  to  say  of  "Gott,"  it  is  a  false  idea  of 
the  old  Testament  God  which  they  hold,  and  never  do  they 
mention  the  name  of  Jesus  the  Christ,  or  the  Virgin  Mary. 
They  seem  held  from  this  (dis)  crowning  blasphemy,  and 
may  not  utterly  perish  from  the  earth. 

*Nations  are  conceived  and  born  as  ideals,  mentally. 

181 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

I  like  to  realize  that  as  God  was  not  in  the  whirlwind  or 
earthquake  in  Horeb,  neither  is  God  in  the  war  but  in  the 
"still  small  voice"  of  conscience.  If  men  would  listen  to 
the  voice  of  conscience  (of  God)  there  would  be  no  one  to 
begin  a  war,  and  so  no  more  fighting.  There  are  many 
wrongs  to  be  righted.  We  all  like  sheep  have  gone  astray, 
but  these  Prussians  are  the  limit,  plus,  and  must  be 
attended  to  before  anything  else  is  attempted,  without 
question. 

One  would  judge  that  military  Germany  is  much  too 
"thin  skinned,"  as  we  say,  and  individual  taunts  which  her 
people  in  common  with  people  of  all  nationalities  have  had 
to  accept,  proves  too  much  for  her  ruling  class  to  endure. 
Leading  Germans  evidently  have  not  the  ability  to  "give 
and  take/'  as  we  all  must  learn  to  do  in  this  world. 

Of  German  philosophers  it  has  been  said  by  close 
observers,  "They  can  go  down  deeper,  stay  down  longer, 
and  come  up  muddier  than  those  of  any  other  nation." 
Of  course  there  are  very  notable  exceptions  to  these  state- 
ments. 

The  great  German  poet  and  seer,  Goethe,  is  quoted  as 
saying  "The  Prussian  is  a  brute  and  if  you  civilize  him 
you  make  him  ferocious."  Hegel  agrees  with  this  estimate 
of  the  Prussian  character.* 

*  Hegel  was  teaching  in  Germany  at  the  time  of  Napoleon's 
victories,  and  at  that  time  universal  military  training  was  first 
introduced  in  Germany.  Hegel  said  to  the  students  in  his  charge 
"This  movement  is  not  militarism,  but  it  should  be  understood 
that  there  may  come  a  time  when  every  man  will  be  needed  to  de- 
fend his  country."  In  Ency.  Brit,  we  read :  "Hegel,  like  Goethe, 
felt  no  patriotic  shudder  at  the  victory  of  Napoleon  in  1806; 
and  only  speaks  with  satisfaction  of  the  probable  overthrow  of 
the  badly  generaled  and  inefficient  Prussians.  He  wished  to  see 
the  war  clouds  pass  away  and  leave  thinkers  to  their  peaceful 
work." 

182 


Vagaries  of  Nietzsche 


One  sees,  as  in  a  vision,  to  what  heights  Germany's 
acknowledged  efficiency  and  system  were  taking  her. 
What  a  lesson  she  had  for  the  world !  Had  she  only  kept 
her  balance  and  continued  to  attract  by  good  works  the 
good  will  and  admiration  of  all ;  giving  out  freely  and  in 
love,  of  her  ideas  and  example.  Casting  her  bread  on  the 
waters  and  allowing  God  to  give  the  return  and  increase, 
her  dreams  of  world  acceptance  of  her  ideas  might  have 
become  a  reality  fused  into  one  with  attainment  of  the 
ideals  and  messages  of  the  other  nations — England, 
France,  Italy,  Japan,  China,  Russia,  synthesised  in 
America;  we  might  have  thus  arrived  at  the  stature  and 
the  measure  of  the  fullness  of  Christ  (Truth).  But  for 
the  time  being,  the  Anti  Christ  or  Anti  Truth,  symbolized 
evidently  and  concretely  by  the  "Prussian  Military  Caste" 
with  all  militarism  as  its  shadow,  is  making  a  desperate 
stand  for  full  power.  We  are  aware  of  the  astonishing 
number  of  individual  suicides  taking  place  all  over  the 
world.  Are  we  now  to  see  a  class  or  clique  suicide?  Is 
it  not  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished?  With  it 
should  go  the  contemptible,  traitorous  snooping  called 
the  "spy  system,"  originated  by  Frederick  the  Great  and 
his  forebears,  from  which  any  really  well  regulated  mind 
should  recoil  as  from  a  venomous  serpent,  and  which 
must  have  a  destructive  reaction  on  the  mind  inciting  to, 
indulging  in  or  being  forced  into  it. 

It  is  surely  a  far  cry  from  Nietzsche  to  Hegel  and 
Goethe ;  one  wonders  if  the  Germans  have  forgotten,  or 
have  only  misunderstood  them. 

Will  the  Fairies,  Goblins  and  Little  Men,  the  Goose 
Maidens,  Wild  Swans  and  Chimney  Storks  go  away  and 


183 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

never  return?  Tears  are  near  the  surface  as  Germany's 
past  is  brought  to  mind  and  compared  with  the  present. 
We  trust  that  this  will  be  a  class  suicide  only  and  not  that 
of  a  nation,  which  seems  to  be  approaching. 

It  is  difficult  in  the  face  of  existing  conditions  to  calmly 
judge  the  German  state  of  mind;  but  there  certainly  will 
be  a  future  life,  and  one  feels  that  there  will  be  an  espe- 
cially trying  corner  for  those  of  that  race  who  come  over 
here  to  escape  conditions  in  Germany;  and  who  with  all 
the  opportunties  for  open,  fair  education  and  discussion 
still  uphold  the  Prussian  military  autocracy  in  perpetrat- 
ing atrocities  the  like  of  which  the  world  has  never  known. 
It  would  seem  that  they  are  sinning  against  light,  and  the 
punishment  for  that  is  annihilation.  They  might  well 
begin  to  take  account  of  themselves  seriously  before  their 
minds  are  utterly  and  irrevocably  perverted. 


An  indication  as  to  the  reflex  action  of  the  Nietz- 
schean  teaching  may  be  found  in  the  following. 

*I  find  a  similar  thought  expressed  in  a  recent  article  in 
a  noted  magazine,  by  an  English  father  who  in  evident 
sincerity,  says  that  he  bows  before  the  superior  wisdom 
of  his  son,  an  artist,  who  has  spent  much  time  in  -foreign 
schools.  He  quotes,  "And  I  see  all  of  it,  only  I  am 
dying."  He  then  closes  the  article  by  saying :  "As  I  gaze 
I  sometimes  think  futurist  parents  are  in  for  a  stormy 
time.  But  no  matter,  let  us  hand  on  to  them  our  motto, 
Be  bold,  be  bold  and  ever  more  be  bold,  there  is  not  the 
smallest  fear  that  anyone  will  be  too  bold."  Now  it  may 

*See  page  177. 

184 


Reflex  Action  of  Nietzschean  Teaching 

easily  be  that  this  way  madness  lies.  If  the  human  mind 
has  no  direction  in  the  earnest  past  why  should  we  trust 
it  for  the  future  and  in  the  coming  generation.  The  out- 
look is  dark  indeed  if  such  is  the  state  of  affairs.  I  still 
think  we  should  continue  to  complete  the  above  quotation 
in  the  light  of  experience  and  add  the  words,  "Be  not  too 
bold,"  as  we  have  been  accustomed  to  do ;  unless  we  are 
very  sure  of  our  direction,  which  in  the  nature  of  present 
day  conditions  we  can  scarcely  claim  to  be. 

The  above  suits  well  with  such  extraordinary  state- 
ments as  the  following,  found  in  a  periodical  which 
(strange  to  say)  is  widely  read;  and  which  kindly  dis- 
penses wisdom  for  a  waiting  world:  "A  girl  of  sixteen 
often  knows  more  than  a  woman  of  sixty-one"  (just 
unnaturally  one  supposes),  and  in  complacently  "advising 
mothers"  "not  to  'nag'  their  boys,  not  to  weep  or  advise 
them,  especially  when  they  are  about  eighteen,  and  are 
overpowered  by  the  elemental  man's  intense  feeling  of  the 
superiority  of  the  male  sex,  which  makes  them  restless 
under  any  suggestion  of  petticoat  ruling."*  Such  a  mis- 
guided youth  (I  cannot  think  they  are  common)  needs  to 
be  chastised,  not  advised.  He  must  be  a  victim  of  faulty 
environment.  I  asked  my  husband,  "Did  you  at  eighteen 
feel  that  you  were  superior  to  your  mother?"  I 
know  he  did  not  and  he  could  scarcely  answer  me  he  was 
so  indignant  at  the  bare  idea.  To  call  a  mother's  loving 
advice  nagging,  and  the  views  of  older  women  of  less 
value  than  those  of  a  child,  and  then  to  blame  the  mother, 
(as  is  often  done)  and  women  generally,  and  wonder  at 
appalling  results,  as  evidenced  by  supposedly  reliable 

*See  Appendix  I,  page  208. 


185 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

statements  regarding  the  conduct  of  children  and  young 
people  of  the  present  day,  is  most  illogical  to  say  the 
least.  To  sum  up  the  good  advice  and  conscientious 
desire  of  a  mother  for  the  welfare  of  her  offspring,  as  a 
nagging  and  weeping  nuisance,  recalls  the  Bible  record  of 
an  event  of  which  "some  said  it  was  a  voice  from  Heaven, 
and  others  that  it  thundered"  ;  just  a  difference  in  the  view 
point. 

Not  much  of  an  incentive  to  motherhood  surely ;  which 
experience  it  seems  may  be  made  up  of  nagging  and  weep- 
ing, and  even  at  that  you  must  bring  up  your  boy  to  be  a 
soldier;  which  in  view  of  present  developments  is  not  so 
attractive  even  to  the  boy ;  and  your  girl  to  follow  her  own 
will,  no  matter  where  it  leads  her,  and  have  them  both 
look  indulgently  down  on  you  as  an  old  fogy,  tho  in  some 
ways  necessary  nuisance.  This  is  not  in  accord  with  the 
testimony  of  many  of  our  greatest  men  and  women  as  to 
the  value  of  the  mother  influence.*  The  situation  cer- 
tainly has  its  difficulties.  Parents  are  not  always 
reasonable  or  right,  but  I  think  children  would  not  loose 
anything  by  being  thoughtful  of  and  respectful  to  their 
parents. 

The  small  son  of  a  friend  of  the  writer,  on  returning 
from  school  one  day  ordered  his  mother  (a  very  bright 
intelligent  woman  of  means  and  affairs)  to  remove  his 
shoes.  Out  of  curiosity  as  to  his  unusual  manner,  she 
replied:  "Why  don't  you  do  it  yourself?"  His  answer 
was:  "That  is  what  women  are  for;  to  wait  on  men." 
This  "modern  instance"  is  far  from  being  a  joke;  I  can 
assure  you  it  is  a  very  serious  matter  that  such  teaching  is 
abroad  at  all ;  it  has  a  lasting  effect,  and  is  certainly  a  part 

*See  Appendix  I,  page  202. 

186 


Reflex  Action  of  Nietzhscean  Teaching. 

of  the  devil's  own  work — aiming  to  discredit  woman,  as 
he  is  constantly  doing,  also  using  those  in  league  with  vice 
and  liquor  to  keep  the  woman's  or  mother  thought  from 
being  expressed  to  help  purify  and  save. 

A  16  year  old  French  boy  (war  waif)  whose  health  was 
badly  impaired  by  his  4  years  of  life  in  the  trenches  (where 
men  are  "boss")  is  credited  with  saying;  when  asked  if 
he  found  life  in  the  trenches  pretty  hard :  "Not  near  as 
bad  as  it  is  to  be  bossed  by  women  here  in  the  hospital ; 
but  then  in  war  we  must  expect  to  put  up  with  anything/' 
This  insult  to  the  self  sacrificing  nurses  who  were  trying 
to  repair  the  work  of  the  men,  was  apparently  considered 
humorous  by  the  narrator  of  the  story.  Men  should  not 
allow  such  remarks  by  boys  to  go  unrebuked,  then  this 
abnormal  situation  would  not  so  often  arise  to  the  dis- 
credit of  the  women,  and  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  boys 
and  men. 

One  of  our  boys  writing  from  "Over  There"  says  he 
"sees  women  doing  the  hardest  manual  work  in  the  fields," 
and  he  says  "it  seems  that  this  is  not  merely  a  war  con- 
dition, women  have  always  been  doing  it,  often  harnessed 
with  animals,  when  they  were  to  be  had" ;  this  sight  has 
always  been  so  common  in  continental  Europe  as  to 
scarcely  cause  more  than  a  comment  by  the  sight  seeing 
observer.  Noted  and  loved  women  observers  sum  it  up 
about  like  this :  "The  women  work  and  work  and  then 
men  fight  and  fight";  very  true  to  life  in  most  foreign 
lands ;  and  yet  a  soldier  writes  from  France,  "The  peasant 
women  here  are  much  more  intelligent  than  their  men" 
and  one  writes  from  Petrograd  during  the  Bolshevik 
terror:  "The  women  here  are  so  much  superior  to  the 
men  that  I  can  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  vote; 

187 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the 

but  the  reason  why  the  men  should  is  not  so  evident/' 
What  conclusion  should  be  drawn  by  both  men  and  women 
who  wish  to  be  just  from  this  state  of  affairs? 

Twice,  in  a  recently  published  article  on  France,  in 
a  noted  magazine,  the  writer  refers  to  the  "cows"  of  the 
French  peasant  as  being  of  "more  importance  and  value 
to  him  than  his  easily  replaced  wife."  The  writer  of 
the  article  seems  a  little  dubious  as  to  the  situation  be 
it  said,  tho  he  makes  no  special  comment.  One 
Frenchman  has  recently  written  a  book  on  the  United 
States  after  a  very  brief  visit;  he  includes  a  chapter  on 
the  "American  Woman"  which  is  said  to  be  "far  from 
pleasant  reading,"  but  which  should  react  as  a  compli- 
ment to  his  subject.  At  times  it  is  now  sagely  said  that 
the  "French  women  are  very  attractive  to  the  American 
men  because  they  pet  and  amuse  them" ;  and  they  proba- 
bly do  with  a  purpose.  At  one  time  we  are  told  that 
they  (men)  want  to  and  should  be  petted;  again  that 
they  do  not  and  should  not  be.  What  utter  confusion 
of  thought;  and  the  young  men  will  be  all  right  if  left 
alone  and  allowed  to  carry  out  their  own  natural  ideas, 
without  the  absurb  comment  and  advice  which  some  way 
or  other  find  their  way  into  print. 

We  even  hear  a  small  wail  from  "over  there"  asking 
the  "girls"  not  to  "marry  all  the  old  men,  but  to  wait 
for  the  young  men."  It  is  to  be  supposed  that  most  if 
not  all  of  the  "old  men"  are  already  married;  there 
have  always  been  "girls"  to  be  had;  are  these  men  to 
divorce  their  wives  in  order  to  marry  the  "girls,"  or 
are  we  facing  polygamy,  which  is  openly  advocated 
among  us.  The  children  of  older  men  are  said  to  be 
more  peaceful,  but  that  is  not  what  we  want  in  men 

1 88 


Reflex  Action  of  Nietzschean  Teaching. 

it  seems,  and  anyway  the  fighting  spirit  is  now  "dis- 
covered" to  be  inherited  through  the  mother,  so  what 
difference  does  the  age  or  aptitude  of  the  man  make; 
he  is  then  entirely  negligible,  but  a  passive  means  to 
an  end.  It  passes  sane  understanding  that  a  discus- 
sion should  be  allowed  or  encouraged,  upon  the  com- 
parative merits  of  the  French  and  American  women. 
Whose  business  is  it  anyway?  The  controversy  is  far 
from  ethical,  and  should  be  dropped,  in  the  name  of 
delicacy  and  deceacy. 

In  the  following  apt  quotation  we  find  some  people's 
views  on  women  already  summed  up  with  neatness 
and  dispatch,  which  leaves  little  more  to  be  said  on 
the  subject:  "While  woman  is  never  allowed  to  for- 
get that  she  is  capable  of  improvement,  if  all  the  men 
in  creation  were  lined  up  and  the  question  asked 
what  is  the  matter  with  man,  there  would  be  an  over- 
whelming chorus  of,  Oh,  he's  all  right."  This  was 
written  years  ago,  however,  before  the  present  conditions 
were  in  evidence. 

In  a  poorly  thought  out  and  carelessly  written  article 
reviewed  and  given  wide  circulation  by  a  very  noted  pub- 
lication, headed:  "THE  DEADLY  FEMALE— Kipling 
eugenically  correct?"  We  find  in  the  article  itself — 
what?  Why  that  women  have  the  qualities  of  cool- 
ness, bravery,  spirit,  efficiency,  etc.  But  it  appears 
that  the  Medical  Army  writer  proves  to  his  own  satis- 
faction that  woman  is  the  fighting  animal,  because  her 
sons  are  fighters ;  naturally  were  that  the  case  one  would 
think  her  daughters  would  be  fierce,  but  he  says  they  are 
not ;  she  and  they  are  calm  and  quiet,  and  that  proves  them 
to  be  fractious  because  it  does  not  prove  it.  "The  daughter 

189 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

of  the  fighting  father  is  likely  to  have  fighting  sons" ;  then 
may  not  this  spirit  descend  from  the  grandfather  to  the 
grandson?  No  one  can  dispute  the  fact  that  all  men  are 
the  sons  of  women,  though  it  may  never  have  occurred  to 
them  before;  therefore  they  are  sons  of  women  (also 
of  men  who  usually  claim  them  and  take  the  credit)  and 
as  they  are  the  fighters  their  mothers  must  be  respon- 
sible— curious  little  theory.  Let  us  announce  it  as  a 
proven  truth  and  gain  a  short  lived  notoriety. 

Do  women  prove  their  fighting  qualities  by  caring  for, 
nursing,  succoring,  and  binding  up  the  wounded;  most 
peculiar  logic,  or  lack  of  it.  The  learned  doctor  seems 
only  to  prove  that  the  woman  is  the  important  and  deci- 
sive parent. 

As  a  common  occurrence  of  this  kind,  in  a  noted  daily 
paper  one  reads  in  large  headlines:  "RUSSIAN  WO- 
MEN OUTDO  HORRORS  OF  BARBARISM."  In 
the  article  itself  no  incidents  of  the  kind  referred  to  are 
spoken  of.  The  women  (under  male  dominance)  were 
recorded  as  being  unsympathetic  and  rude  to  unfortu- 
nate people;  but  that,  while  bad  enough,  was  all  that 
was  noted.  Where  do  we  find  accounts  of  even  Ger- 
man women  mutilating,  torturing,  outraging  or  killing 
men,  women  or  children.  They  are  scored  because  they 
spit  at  the  enemy  men  and  humiliate  them ;  deeds 
which  though  coarse  and  low  are  not  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  those  of  the  men.  History,  ancient  or  mod- 
ern if  appealed  to,  certainly  does  not  prove  a  "bad" 
woman  to  be  worse  than  a  "bad  man."  Also  if  num- 
bers are  noted  the  women  have  the  advantage,  without 
question  from  any  decently  fair  minded  person ;  and  I 
am  sure  we  all  wish  to  be  fair  minded  in  this  as  well 

190 


1 Barbarous  Laws" 


as  other  directions.  Consider  how  it  is  that  we  jump  at 
so  called  conclusions  on  this  very  important  subject,  as 
on  many  others.  We  must  correct  our  methods  if  we 
are  to  make  much  needed  progress,  and  that  at  a  rapid 
pace. 

In  arranging  our  first  treaty  with  Japan  the  Emperor 
wished  to  add  a  clause  to  the  effect  that  no  American 
woman  should  be  allowed  to  enter  Japan.  (Think  of  it, 
Satan  ever  at  work  and  fearful  that  the  feminine  thought 
will  be  liberated  from  male  dominion.)  Tradition  has  it 
that  our  gallant  and  doughty  commander  replied :  "Great 
Heaven !  if  I  were  to  permit  such  stipulation  in  the 
treaty,  when  I  got  home  the  women  would  pull  all  the  hair 
out  of  my  head/'  If  he  said  this,  even  though  well  meant, 
(as  no  one  doubts)  it  was  a  contemptible  lie,  and  should 
have  been  so  branded  long  ago,  instead  of  being  quoted 
with  approval  as  a  joke ;  as  it  is  to  this  very  day,  in  a  re- 
cent noted  publication.  Now  he  must  have  known  that 
his  hair  would  not  be  touched.  Where  are  there  any 
authentic  records  of  these  oft  referred  to,  hair  pulling 
contests  among  women;  except  perhaps  among  a  few 
drunken  over  wrought  creatures  who  are  under  dominion 
of  man  controlled  conditions,  and  who  are  distinctly 
not  representative,  as  every  one  knows.  It  is  this  sin- 
ning against  light  which  is  at  the  bottom  of  this  situa- 
tion. Boys  and  others,  who  naturally  respect  their 
mothers,  at  least,  read  these  sentences,  especially  when 
struck  off  by  noted  men  at  times  of  serious  moment,  and 
are  impressed  by  them  to  the  great  loss  of  humanity. 

Ida  M.  Tarbell,  who  is  not  a  suffragist  but  who  is 
seeing  her  illusions  melt  away  one  by  one,  and  is  now 
broader  and  fairer  than  most  of  her  class  says,  that 

191 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

"Every  woman  of  today  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  broader 
life  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  pioneer  advocates  of 
equal  rights."  That  brilliant  woman,  Abigail  Adams, 
said  to  her  husband,  John  Adams,  when  congratulating 
him  on  his  election  to  the  Presidency  in  1797:  "Now  is 
the  time  for  you  men  to  do  justice  to  woman  by  giving 
her  a  voice  in  the  national  councils."  Her  advice  was 
not  heeded;  had  it  been  our  history  would  have  been 
changed  and  the  outcome  better,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say.  It  could  not  well  be  worse,  if  judged  by  the  ap- 
parent revelations  and  indications  of  the  present. 

The  Woman  Citizen  sums  up  in  the  following  article, 
which  could  hardly  be  improved  upon  as  a  concise  state- 
ment of  notable  and  important  facts,  the  "Gains  of  a 
Hundred  Years." 

"The  world  has  been  largely  revolutionized  in  its 
attitude  toward  women.  But  all  those  ancient  limita- 
tions disabilities  had  to  be  demolished  piecemeal,  one 
by  one,  after  years  of  hard  and  laborious  hammering 
away  by  friends  of  equal  rights.  The  removal  of  each 
one  was  fought  by  the  conservatives  as  stubbornly  as 
the  Federal  amendment  is  now  being  fought  by  a  hand- 
ful of  "wilful  men"  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

It  is  good  for  our  young  women  to  look  backward 
now  and  then,  at  "the  pit  from  which  they  were 
digged."  It  is  hard  for  them  and  for  most  men,  to  real- 
ize that  gentle  and  virtuous  women  were  ever  mobbed 
and  ostracized  merely  for  making  public  speeches  upon 
philanthropic  subjects — and  that  this  was  done  in 
America,  within  memory  of  persons  now  living. 

In  the  year  1818  it  was  looked  upon  as  utterly  im- 
proper for  a  woman  to  speak  in  public.  Even  to  write 

192 


"Barbarous  Laws" 


for  publication  was  considered  unfeminine.  The  gentle 
Charles  Lamb  himself  said,  "The  woman  who  lets  her- 
self be  known  as  an  author  invites  disrespect."  A  wo- 
man who  had  her  living  to  earn  was  rigidly  restricted 
by  public  opinion  to  a  very  few  poorly-paid  (laborious 
physical)  occupations.  There  was  not  a  college  in  the 
United  States  that  admitted  women.  There  was  not  a 
free  public  high  school  for  girls.  There  were  few 
organizations  of  women.  Even  to  join  a  temperance 
society  was  considered  unwomanly. 

A  married  woman  had  no  rights  over  her  children. 
Her  husband  had  absolute  control  over  her  property 
and  earnings.  If  she  earned  a  dollar  by  taking  in  wash- 
ing, it  was  his  dollar  not  hers.  If  her  employer  paid 
the  money  to  her,  the  husband  could  require  it  to  be 
paid  over  again,  to  him.  She  could  not  make  a  valid 
will  without  her  husband's  consent,  unless  she  left 
everything  to  him,  in  which  case  it  was  assumed  that 
his  consent  would  not  be  lacking.  She  could  not  sue 
or  be  sued;  her  legal  existence  was  said  to  be  "sus- 
pended" during  marriage.  Husband  and  wife  were  one, 
and  that  one  was  the  husband.  He  had  the  right  to 
lock  her  up,  and,  in  most  states,  the  right  to  beat  her, 
"in  moderation."  This  had  been  defined  by  a  learned 
judge  as  meaning  that  the  stick  must  not  be  thicker 
than  the  judge's  thumb.  (This  is  as  shameful  as  it  is 
true.)  But  the  legal  disabilities  of  women,  heavy  as 
they  were,  were  less  crushing  than  the  weight  of  public 
opinion.  Every  man  was  brought  up  to  believe  that 
he  had  a  divinely-ordained  right  to  rule  over  his  wife. 
Every  woman  was  educated  to  believe  that  it  was  her 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

duty  to  submit.  The  belief  in  women's  inferiority, 
both  of  nature  and  of  status,  was  practically  universal. 
It  wrapped  every  girl  child  around,  from  her  cradle  up, 
like  an  invisible  strait-jacket."  All  this  to  humanity's 
great  loss,  be  it  remembered. 

In  an  article  written  by  an  Englishman  I  find  ex- 
pressed a  very  just  indignation  at  the  way  English  war 
officers  (prisoners)  are  browbeaten  and  made  subject 
to  bullying  Germans.  A  tremendous  indignation 
rises  in  the  hearts  of  all  lovers  of  justice  and  decency. 
But  does  it  occur  to  many  of  these,  that  men  all  over  the 
world  have  been  subjecting  high  spirited  and  lovely 
but  helpless  women,  as  well  as  children,  to  this  same 
sort  of  treatment  all  through  the  ages,  and  are  doing  it 
still? 

It  has  been  well  said  that  an  improved  form  of  relig- 
ion, and  an  improved  position  for  woman,  will  be  the  last 
to  be  recognized;  they  go  together.  "The  woman" 
liberator  has  appeared  and  her  work  is  well  done,  but 
some  man  has  missed  the  opportunity  to  go  down  in 
history  with  Moses  and  Lincoln,  as  a  liberator  and  bene- 
factor in  material  ways.  Perhaps  it  is  too  great  a  work 
for  any  one  man  to  have  manifested. 

We  must  do  full  justice  to  the  men  of  all  States  who 
have  gone  forward  in  the  movement;  and  blush  with 
shame  and  sorrow  for  those  States  that  lag  behind  as 
servants  of  the  vice  and  Liquor  interests.* 

*It  is  not  fair  to  say  that  the  Referendum  for  Suffrage  has 
ever  been  given  a  fair  trial  as  yet  in  any  of  those  States.  In 
some  of  our  States,  my  own  among  them,  Woman's  Suffrage 
has  been  defeated  at  the  Polls,  but  by  whom — by  the  for- 
eigners and  the  vice  interests,  who  vote,  and  by  fraud  allowed. 
We  only  know  what  the  foreigners  and  vice  interests  want, 
not  what  the  American  people  want. 

194 


"The  Romans'  Cause  is  Man's' 


Almost  any  one  can  remember  a  time  when  on 
Fourth  of  July,  because  the  mothers  did  not  delight  in 
dangerous  fireworks,  they  were  laughed  at  as  silly 
cowards ;  but  now  we  see  a  change  of  sentiment  all 
along  the  line.  It  looks  as  if  we  were  in  time  to  have  a 
sane  Fourth.  The  woman's  thought  in  this  is  seen  to 
be  really  wise. 

Any  one  who  wishes  to  be  just  must  acknowledge 
that  in  the  last  sixty  years,  since  the  first  suffrage 
movement  meeting  was  called,  there  have  been  great 
changes  for  the  better.  Florence  Nightingale — (Santa 
Filomena,  Longfellow's  "Lady  with  the  Lamp")  set- 
ting the  example  for  the  kind  treatment  and  protection 
of  soldiers ;  Dorothy  Dix — in  Asylums,  Poor  Houses, 
and  Prisons ;  Frances  Willard— in  Temperance ;  Wo- 
men organizing  the  first  Village  Improvement  Socie- 
ties with  all  women  members.  Women  have,  as  is  well 
known,  inaugurated  many  important  reforms,  working 
against  great  opposition,  and  with  small  means.  And 
when  these  movements  have  grown  to  be  of  some  note 
and  importance  they  are  taken  over  by  men  with  the 
result  that  the  "spirit"  has  been  lost,  the  good  mini- 
mized, and  the  credit  not  fairly  accredited. 

Let  the  women  help  make  the  laws,  and  conditions 
will  be  better  balanced,  better  for  all,  men,  women,  and 
children,  rich  and  poor.  A  better  balance  will  be  thus 
obtained  in  place  of  the  unbalanced  condition  with 
which  we  are  at  present  contending ;  brought  about  by 
the  great  preponderance  of  masculine  authority  which 
should  be  counterbalanced  by  the  free  expression  of 
the  feminine  or  mother  principle.  This  would  certain- 
ly right  the  balance,  and  so  improve  conditions.  One 

195 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

end  has,  and  with  good  reason,  gone  up  in  the  air  as 
evidenced  by  the  present  unbalanced  state  of  world 
affairs.  "Male  and  female  created  he  them  and  gave 
them  dominion."  The  perfect  balance  will  never  be 
attained  until  "they"  together,  man  and  woman  (not 
man  alone,  not  woman  alone)  have  dominion.  At  pres- 
ent we  are  subject  to  everything.  What  other  course 
is  left  open  to  us;  what  other  unused  influence  have 
we  to  bring  to  bear,  except  to  give  the  feminine 
thought  liberty  (not  license)  as  far  as  liberty  is  pos- 
sible to  anyone,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  ballot  (which  is 
now  in  sight  in  many  lands)  is  only  the  alphabet  of  the 
woman's  movement.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  we  have  not 
waited  so  long  that  we  can  only  with  great  tribulation, 
right  the  balance ;  if  we  have  done  so  the  situation  must 
be  considered  most  grave.  This  may  seem  visionary; 
you  may  think  it  impossible,  but  I  believe  it  is  the  only 
way.  A  woman's  reasoning  powers  are  often  more  ac- 
curate than  man's,  being  more  nearly  "intuitive,"  and 
nearer  to  the  source. 

It  is  well  understood  that  it  is  not  the  nation  without 
a  Napoleon  but  the  nation  without  Seers  and  Prophets, 
the  "nation  without  a  vision  that  perishes."  "Not  by 
might  nor  by  strength  but  by  my  spirit  saith  the  Lord." 
The  spirit  of  justice  and  fairness  to  all. 


196 


Appendices 


APPENDIX  A 
See  page  xx 

Certainly  none  of  us,  in  view  of  recent  object  lessons, 
want  "our  own"  sent  into  active  warfare ;  tho  some  of  us 
might  be  willing  to  sacrifice  our  "wife's  relations,"  as  one 
of  our  humorists  has  said;  at  the  same  time  we  can  but 
remember  Isaiah's  warning  to  the  Israelites;  Do  not 
trust  in  material  means,  "In  quietness  and  confidence 
shall  be  your  strength"  and  wonder;  if  we  had  faith  or 
understanding  enough,  would  it  take  the  place  of,  and  be 
better  than  armies  for  defense.  "Not  by  might  nor  by 
strength,  but  by  my  spirit  (of  justice  and  fairness)  saith 
the  Lord."  And  yet,  while  David  said  to  Goliath, 
"Thou  comest  with  spear  and  shield,  but  I  come  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts" ;  we  notice  that  he  took  his 
Sling  and  Pebbles  and  did  the  work  with  them,  seem- 
ingly; a  combination  of  Faith  and  Works,  apparently; 
or,  a  reasonable  preparedness.  Noah  also,  through  a  prac- 
tical faith  (or  understanding  of  conditions)  found  this 
preparedness  policy  a  good  one. 

A  situation  often  suggested  in  this  connection  as  being 
humorous  is  that  of  the  philosopher  and  the  bear;  the 
former  saw  the  latter  making  for  him  and  decided  to  use 
moral  suasion  instead  of  brute  force;  a  little  later  the 
bear  walks  off  after  a  comfortable  meal,  and  the  philoso- 
pher is  no  more.  But  had  the  philosopher  known  what 
Daniel  of  Bible  fame  knew,  the  story  would  have  had  a 
different  ending.  Every  thinking  person  acknowledges 

199 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

that  the  human  mind  can,  to  a  certain  extent,  control  the 
animal;  the  only  limit  to  this  expression  would  be  the 
individual  understanding,  as  in  the  case  of  mathematics, 
music,  electricity,  power  of  any  sort;  just  as  an  attitude 
of  more  firmness  and  confidence  shown  by  the  adminis- 
tration; expressing  our  own  attitude  as  a  people;  might 
have  saved  us  (and  others)  much  trouble  in  the  late 
unpleasantness ;  including  the  Mexican  situation. 


APPENDIX  B 

See  page  198 

In  Plutarch's  Life  of  Numa  Pompilius  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  statement  of  a  belief  of  the  Egyptians : 
"Nor  does  it  seem  strange  if  God,  a  lover  not  of  horses  or 
birds,  but  men,  should  not  disdain  to  dwell  with  the  vir- 
tuous and  converse  with  the  wise  and  temperate  soul, 
though  it  be  altogether  hard,  indeed,  to  believe,  that  any 
god  or  demon  is  capable  of  a  sensual  or  bodily  love  and 
passion  for  any  human  form  or  beauty.  Though,  indeed, 
the  wise  Egyptians  do  not  plausibly  make  the  distinction, 
that  it  may  be  possible  for  a  divine  spirit  so  to  apply  itself 
to  the  nature  of  a  woman — as  to  inbreed  in  her  the  first 
beginnings  of  generation,  while  on  the  other  side  they 
conclude  it  impossible  for  the  male  kind  to  have  any 
intercourse  or  mixture  by  the  body  with  any  divinity." 
Would  not  this  indicate  that  they  consider  the  women  of 
more  refined  and  spiritual  nature  ?  Thus  we  may  see  why 
the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  (not  the  sons)  of 
men  that  they  were  fair ;  the  daughters  were  of  a  higher 
and  more  spiritual  type  than  the  sons. 

We  note  too  that  the  keepers  of  the  sacred  fire  (or  the 
attempt  at  continuous  light  probably  symbolizing  intel- 

200 


Appendices 


ligence  or  civilization)  were  never  men  but  women, 
sometimes  "Vestal  Virgins"  but  oftener  widows,  though 
we  do  not  hear  so  much  of  the  latter.  It  is  understood 
that  these  women  were  highly  honored,  were  expected  to 
live  continent  lives,  and  that  they  rarely  violated  their 
vows  (except  through  compulsion)  and  received  the  most 
extreme  punishment,  being  buried  alive  if  they  were 
found  guilty. 


APPENDIX   C 

See  page  94 

Even  in  regard  to  the  Indian  problem  which  is 
often  brought  up  (with  much  wasted  emotional- 
ism) as  a  reproach.  Many  do  not  stop  to  realize  that 
our  government  has  tried  from  the  first,  as  history  will 
prove,  to  be  humanly  fair  and  paternal  to  them.  Mis- 
takes may  have  occurred  but  the  real  injustice  has  been 
perpetrated  by  individuals.  The  fact  that  the  Indians  are 
not  being  exterminated  (the  census  for  1860  numbered 
them  at  250,000,  while  now  there  are  over  333,000)  and  we 
may  now  speak  of  Lo,  the  rich  Indian;  shows  that  con- 
ditions for  them  have  improved;  the  government  offers 
them  more  than  they  will  accept.  The  Indians  are  now 
said  to  be  richer,  on  the  average,  than  the  majority  of  our 
own  people.  "The  Osages  are  probably  the  wealthiest 
people  in  the  world."  (National  Geographic  Magazine 
January  1915.)  This  state  seems  far  from  oppressive, 
we  may  thankfully  affirm ;  and  our  government  deserves 
and  has  deserved  proper  credit  rather  than  discredit. 

From  the  Annual  Report  (1919)  Bureau  of  Indian 
Affairs:  "In  the  purchase  of  Liberty  Bonds  the  Indians 
received  definite  training  toward  a  safe  and  wise  use  of 

201 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile' 

money,  their  total  subscriptions  are  about  $25,000,000  or 
$75  per  capita;  and  even  in  face  of  the  H.  C.  L.  their 
W.  S.  S.  exceed  $1,000,000."  "The  Govt.  Indian  board- 
ing school  provides  for  lodging,  subsistence,  clothing, 
medical  attention  and  transportation  as  well  as  academic 
and  industrial  education."  The  work  of  the  Bureau  in 
the  past  50  years  has  been  rich  in  fruit." 

When,  instead  of  calling  attention  to  individual  short- 
comings at  home,  some  statesmen,  laymen  and  even  an 
educated  Christian  minister  go  far  afield  and  inform  their 
hearers  that  world  conditions  now  are  due  to  general 
government  mismanagement ;  and  then  place  in  the  same 
category  with  the  opium  and  Congo  affairs  (which  were 
foreign  government  institutions)  the  U.  S.  treatment  of 
our  Indians,  one  realizes  that  many  people  are  shorter 
on  information  and  patriotism  than  they  intend  or  wish  to 
be. 

When  the  white  man  came  to  this  country  the  Indians 
had  no  central  responsible  government ;  they  did  not  own 
the  lands  which  they  merely  roamed  over  on  hunting  or 
fighting  expeditions.  They  had  no  written  language  until 
the  white  men  gave  them  one.  Our  government  paid  them 
for  the  lands  to  which  they  had  no  legal  claim,  and  which 
they  were  not  using  for  normal  productive  purposes.  Had 
they  been  left  in  possession  where  would  have  been  the 
churches,  schools,  cities,  and  food  for  their  inhabitants, 
such  as  we  now  have  ?  The  land  which  now  supports  and 
and  makes  a  home  for  a  growing  population  of  110,000,000 
would  have  been  sustaining  a  few  hundred  thousand  in- 
stead. Their  past  history  shows  that  they  were  always  at 
war  among  themselves  and  would  have  exterminated  each 
other,  perhaps,  if  left  alone.  Their  well  known  indif- 
ference to  dirt  and  work  and  their  treatment  of  their  wo- 

202 


Appendices 


men  is  not  at  all  to  their  credit.  Their  code  does  not 
allow  them  to  violate  their  women  and  children,  and  they 
are  very  strict  in  regard  to  it ;  for  which  stand  they  may 
be  forgiven  much.  While  they  doubtless,  like  most  people, 
have  many  good  qualities,  there  is  still  room  for  improve- 
ment, which  let  us  hope  is  coming  to  them  as  well  as  to 
the  rest  of  us,  as  we  try  even  tho  blindly,  to  reach  the 
light. 

Shameful  as  has  been  the  exploitation  of  men,  countries, 
sections  and  industries,  the  exploitation  of  women  (and 
children)  has  been  more  general,  tremendous  and  shame- 
ful. This  is  being  seen  and  acknowledged  by  advanced 
thinkers  of  both  sexes.  When  men  ever  realize  this  situa- 
tion they  cannot  hasten  fast  enough  to  suit  themselves  in 
attempting  to  rectify  it ;  I  am  sure  of  this. 


APPENDIX  D 

See  page  119 

Probably  many  are  unaware  that  the  words  often  quoted 
(from  the  Bible)  as  the  highest  expression  of  trust  in 
love  and  wedlock  were  spoken  not  by  a  woman  to  a  man, 
or  vice  versa,  but  by  a  daughter-in-law  to  a  mother-in- 
law  :  "Intreat  me  not  to  leave  thee  or  to  return  from  fol- 
lowing after  thee,  for  whither  thou  goest  I  will  go,  and 
where  thou  lodgest  I  will  lodge;  thy  people  shall  be  my 
people  and  thy  God  my  God :  where  thou  diest,  will  I  die, 
and  there  will  I  be  buried:  the  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and 
more  also,  if  aught  but  death  part  thee  and  me."  Why 
not  look  to  such  ideals  for  guidance  instead  of  to  the  ex- 
periences of  imperfect  mortals.  Easily  may  it  be  true 
that  Ruth  recognized  a  higher  type  of  humanity  in  the 
people  and  the  family  of  Naomi,  and  being  of  a  high  type 
herself  wished  to  continue  her  life  among  them  in  Judea, 

303 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

rather  than  among  her  own  people — the  Moabites.  Here 
we  have  a  noted  case  of  two  women  being  in  accord  con- 
trary to  accepted  tradition ;  also  one  who  has  passed  many 
years  of  human  life  observes  that  men  often  do  not  get 
on  any  too  well  with  each  other ;  one  has  to  be  in  control, 
and  all  must  be  exceedingly  deferential  and  careful ;  some- 
times to  the  loss  of  efficiency  and  value,  and  some- 
times beneficially.  We  have  had  a  number  of  notable  ex- 
amples of  this  in  public  life  in  the  last  decade. 


APPENDIX  E 

See  page  136 

In  the  recent  Lusk-Roberts  tragedy,  the  Cow-Doctor's 
cause  was  forwarded  by  just  such  talk,  which  the  "Line 
of  Type"  column  pertinently  quotes — "From  the  letters 
of  Lusk";  "Your  husband  assured  me  the  first  time  I 
ever  talked  with  him  that  his  home  life  was  most  unsatis- 
factory— very  old  stuff,  but  it  always  goes  big."  And  so 
the  story  of  the  "lack  of  children,"  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose and  as  a  lash  against  his  wife.  We  do  not  find  that 
children  figure  much  in  such  cases,  when  they  exist.  One 
man  has  recently  killed  his  wife  because  she  was  going  to 
have  a  child.  Rarely  does  one  see  a  daily  paper  without 
cases  recorded  of  wives  being  forced  to  divorce,  by  the 
man's  over-fondness  for  persons  of  the  cabaret  class.  Most 
usually  the  wife's  petition  is  granted  for  the  care  of  the 
children  who  have  not  in  these  very  frequent  cases  made 
the  man  happy.  Such  unreason  is  impossible  and  women 
are  playing  a  losing  game.  It  is  stuff  which  always  seems 
new  to  its  willing  votaries,  perhaps  because  they  wish  to 
believe  it  and  to  consider  themselves  as  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  real  solution  of 

204 


Appendices 


Miss  Lusk's  ''state  of  mind"  is  to  be  found  in  certain  of 
the  books,  notably  Ellen  Key's,  which  she  proudly  ac- 
knowledged she  had  been  reading,  studying,  and  dissemi- 
nating by  teaching.  Ellen  Key's  latest  book  is  now  for- 
bidden in  the  public  libraries  because  it  is  "subversive  to 
political  law  and  order."  When  it  was  only  moral  law 
and  order  which  her  books  subverted  there  was  nothing 
said  or  done  to  protect  the  mentally  helpless  people  of  our 
nation.  The  "idea"  is  put  forward  most  insidiously  as 
teaching,  by  cult  of  men ;  and  Ellen  Key  is  only  a  willing 
and  misled  catspaw.  The  three  principles  in  the  Lusk- 
Roberts  case  are  (again)  victims  of  a  society  which  con- 
dones and  encourages  evils  and  then  punishes  the  victim 
when  the  incident  ends  in  discovery  and  open  tragedy. 

Miss  Lusk's  definition  of  "parasite"  (as  summed  up  by 
the  paragrapher  in  a  noted  daily  paper)  was :  "A  woman 
whose  husband  runs  after  other  women."  Just  about  as 
reasonable  as  are  most  statements  of  this  nature.  It  is 
quite  a  common  thing  for  one  class  of  men  to  infer,  and 
for  women  under  their  influence,  who  wish  to  flatter  and 
kowtow  before  them,  to  assert  in  a  general  and  sweeping 
way  that  "women  are  parasites."  The  fact  that  such  a 
statement  is  an  outrageous  lie,  does  not  minimize  to  any 
great  degree  the  evil  effect  of  this  assertion  on  the  average 
human  mind.  Doubtless  some  women  are  parasites  (often 
they  are  encouraged  to  be),  and  so  are  many  men,  as  is 
well  known ;  and  men  being  in  power  are  responsible  for 
the  situation. 


205 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  from  the   Vile" 

APPENDIX  F 

See  page  154 

Kipling's  line,  "A  young  man  married  is  a  young  man 
marred,"  quoted  and  referred  to  as  it  has  been  for  forty 
years,  must  have  had  a  bad  effect  on  morality  and  race 
increase.  Our  noted  reformers  have  had  nothing  to  say 
to  him  in  regard  to  it  because  he  was  a  famous  man,  but 
women  and  men  of  lesser  note  have  been  persecuted  and 
imprisoned  for  aiming  at  the  same  result.  Which  is  then 
called  "race  suicide."  Does  not  Mr.  Kipling  (and  others) 
realize  how  many  young  men  are  marred  beyond  hope  of 
repair  before  they  have  even  thought  of  being  married? 
The  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Society  tells  us  that  57% 
more  single  men  die  between  the  ages  of  20  and  29  than 
married  men.  These  are  young  men,  and  all  know  that  the 
so  called  "Sowing  of  wild  oats"  generally  occurs  before 
men  are  married,  and  this  means,  if  it  means  anything, 
that  they  are  MARRED.  The  Company  above  spoken  of 
shows  by  statistics  that  iS%  more  of  married  women  die 
between  the  ages  of  20  and  29  than  unmarried.  No  in- 
ferences are  drawn  from  this  fact  by  the  general  public, 
as  to  young  women  being  marred ;  as  they  have  not  had  a 
Kipling  to  exploit  it.  The  Adam  method  is  still  much  in 
use,  one  has  a  feeling  of  definite  contempt  for  it  at  this 
late  day,  and  must  wonder  how  much  longer  mortals  will 
continue  to  allow  themselves  to  be  deluded  by  the  devil. 
If  to  bring  up  a  family  of  nice  children  is  (and  it  is  con- 
sidered by  many  to  be)  a  necessary  part  of  our  efforts 
toward  future  salvation,  then  women  could  scarcely  be 
expected  to  do  it  all ;  to  bear,  rear  and  support  them ;  and 
why  is  a  young  man  who  bears  his  part,  to  be  pitied  and 
regretted  as  a  marred  individual?  Men  seem  to  waste 
a  lot  of  sympathy  on  themselves.  I  think  it  is  probably 

206 


Appendices 


true,  as  it  is  often  affirmed  to  be,  that  women  as  a  class 
do  take  married  life  more  seriously  than  men;  that  is 
they  are  more  conscientious  and  in  some  ways  feel  a 
greater  responsibility  to  the  race.  Why  not  give  them  the 
right  sort  of  credit  and  approval  for  it? 

The  young  men  of  Rome  said :  We  marry  for  the  good 
of  the  State;  they  evidently  felt  some  sense  of  responsi- 
bility to  the  race  and  did  not  selfishly  feel  themselves 
abused  or  "marred,"  but  as  fulfilling  a  natural  obligation, 
and  so  doing  their-  share  of  what  was  then  considered  a 
part  of  the  world's  work,  which  could  be  done  in  no  other 
way;  though  even  then  the  women  bore  the  greater  part 
of  the  burden  with  no  fair  recognition  given  them. 


APPENDIX  G 

See  Page  158 

The  writer  of  the  article  unconsciously  betrays  her 
standard  by  her  untrue  comparison  of  "suffragists"  with 
the  poor  desert  women  who  have  no  way  to  assert  their 
rights  except  by  screaming  and  vituperation  of  the  lowest 
kind;  at  the  man  who  has  offended  even  their  sense  of 
decency  and  justice.  She  has  evidently  been  taken  in  by 
false  caricatures  of  the  lovely,  intelligent  women  who 
have  been  martyrs  to  the  cause  which  has  given  her  the 
partial  liberty  she  now  enjoys.  This  attitude  on  the  part 
of  a  certain  class  of  women  is  one  of  the  hardest  things 
for  a  fair  minded,  intelligent  person  to  understand.  They 
wish  to  be  very  much  in  the  lime-light  themselves,  and 
after  taking  advantage  of  the  means  offered  they  turn 
on  those  who  made  it  possible,  and  try  to  hold  them  up  to 
ridicule  in  that  same  lime-light,  and  by  means  of  their 
own  illogically  accepted  notoriety.  She  also  says :  "When 

207 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

asked  to  smoke  I  lied  for  my  country  and  said  American 
women  do  not  smoke."  Now  I  have  had  a  wide  ex- 
perience and  I  do  not  lie  when  I  say  that  as  a  general 
thing,  or,  that  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases;  American 
women  do  not  smoke.  I  am  sure  it  is  only  a  small  non- 
representative  minority  who  do;  and  the  others  should 
not  be  included  in  the  sweeping  affirmative  inference.  I 
am  sure  that  on  taking  thought  all  reasonable  people  will 
agree  with  me  in  this  position. 


APPENDIX  H 
See  page  176 

Napoleon  tried  to  take  advantage  of  us  as  he  did  of  the 
French  people;  and  their  rulers  only  helped  us,  as  that 
would  tend  to  injure  England.  Napoleon  was  not  French 
at  all  but  was  Corsican  by  birth.  Corsica,  at  that  time  a 
Genoese  province,  was  conquered  by  France  with  a  heavy 
hand,  the  year  of  Napoleon's  birth.  Thus  was  extin- 
guished for  the  time  the  hope  of  freedom  which  this 
liberty  loving  people  had  retained  through  their  (usual) 
long  and  hard  struggle. 

History  has  many  shameful  records  which  should  be 
relegated  to  oblivion  and  not  taught  or  used  as  examples 
to  follow,  as  they  are  to  a  great  extent.  May  America 
(The  U.  S.)  continue  to  improve  the  records  as  she  has 
well  begun  to  do. 

Napoleon  must  have  been  a  genius  of  a  sort,  and  he 
must  have  had  an  utterly  despotic  and  selfish  nature  which 
he  held  in  abeyance  until  he  saw  that  the  time  was  ripe ; 
he  then  (not  being  super-human,  even)  established  a 
despotism  which  was  as  absolute  as  any  other;  placing 
his  relatives  on  thrones ;  directly  or  indirectly  to  strength- 

208 


Appendices 


en  his  despotic  power.  His  opinion  and  treatment  of  wo- 
man; his  utter  disregard  of  the  individual;  his  growing 
ambition  to  rule  the  world,  which  brought  about  his  down- 
fall amidst  great  suffering  and  loss  to  France,  and  others, 
mistakes  made  which  we  may  hope  they  are  now  ex- 
piating; show  him  to  have  been  very  fallible  even  in  his 
own  line  and  nothing  of  an  idealist.  If  he  fortuitously 
happened  to  lead  a  race  of  idealists  I  do  not  think  he 
should  be  given  the  credit  which  is  due  the  French  nation, 
men  and  women,  -in  large  measure.  Napoleon's  de- 
mobilization decree  for  the  German  Army — 1806 — making 
universal  training  necessary,  laid  the  foundation  for  Ger- 
man militarism,  the  germ  of  the  present  war. 


APPENDIX  I 
See  pages  185  and  186 

This  preposterous  and  bombastic  statement  will  be 
news  to  many  women,  also  to  many  young  men,  I  have 
faith  to  suppose.  One  would  think  that  the  "elemental 
man"  (whatever  that  may  mean)  need  only  to  look  about 
on  present  day  conditions  to  find  his  intense  belief  in  male 
superiority  somewhat  shaken  if  not  entirely  destroyed,  as 
it  should  have  been  long  ago ;  never  was  there  any  excuse 
or  reason  for  its  existence. 

The  situation  certainly  has  its  difficulties;  parents  are 
not  always  reasonable  or  right,  but  I  think  children  would 
not  lose  anything  by  being  thoughtful  of  and  respectful  to 
their  parents.  Young  people  seem  often  to  have  a  semi- 
philosophy,  but  having  little  or  no  experience  with  which 
to  balance  themselves  they  are  apt  to  run  off  on  tangents 
and  so  perhaps  waste  valuable  time,  effort  and  influence. 
Philosophy  always  fails  unless  it  is  based  on  universal 
experience. 

209 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  from  the  Vile" 

APPENDIX  J 

For  pages  65  and  138 

The  Maeterlinck  "triangle"  episode  as  recently  ex- 
plained by  a  member  of  it,  in  a  noted  daily  paper,  is  an 
attempt  at  a  solution  which  instead  of  being  romantic 
only  succeeds  in  being  a  case  of  legalized  consecutive 
polygamy,  or  lust,  through  which  the  "man  in  the  case" 
will  certainly  come  out  a  loser  through  a  speedy  physical 
and  mental  breakdown.  Abnormal  excesses  of  that  kind 
always  take  a  terrific  revenge  even  though  it  is  not 
usually  heralded  thus  in  public.  This  should  be  written 
down  and  noted  for  a  very  serious  fact,  proof  of  which 
we  have  had  in  notable  examples  recently.  The  higher 
mental  type,  is  always  more  deeply  and  speedily  affected 
than  is  a  low  or  brutal  type,  as  the  shock  or  fall  is  greater. 
Some  time  ago  society  in  New  York  rightly  refused  to 
"receive"  Maxim  Gorky  because  he  (could  not  in  Russia 
at  that  time  get  a  divorce  from  his  wife,  and)  was  not 
married  to  the  lady  accompanying  him.  In  enthusias- 
tically "receiving"  the  Materlincks  are  they  not  making 
a  distinction  where  there  is  little  if  any  basic  difference. 
But  "Society"  is  not  supposed  to  be  over  logical;  logic 
is  not  its  strong  point.  However  public  sentiment  (or 
society)  in  this  country  stands  strongly  for  at  least  an 
appearance  of  morality,  which  is  certainly  commendable 
and  hopeful,  as  far  as  it  goes. 


APPENDIX   K 
Refers  to  page  xiv 

Rather  recently  a  few  of  our  multi-millionaires  have 
willed  much  of  their  money  to  the  country,  but  always  it 


210 


An  Illustration 


must  be  applied  as  they  in  their  often  faulty  human 
judgment  think  best;  and  it  goes  to  favored  classes — per- 
haps. Why  would  it  not  be  a  good  plan  to  allow  these 
men  the  credit  they  seem  to  deserve  for  their  energy, 
industry  and  intelligence,  by  letting  it  be  understood  that, 
after  paying  a  fair  wage  to  their  employees,  seeing  that 
they  have  proper  working  conditions,  and  have  taken 
a  generous  percentage  for  themselves,  the  rest  is  to  be 
taken  by  the  State  and  used  for  making  more  and  better 
parks,  lowering  taxes  and  transportation  rates,  bettering 
school  conditions,  etc. ;  then  the  people  in  ordinary  walks 
could  enjoy  life  and  not  feel  that  they  were  objects  of 
charity  in  any  way.  The  excess  profits  thus  used,  could 
be  publicly  credited  up  to  the  men  responsible  for  them 
and  they  could  even  draw  a  moderate  rate  of  interest  on 
the  investment,  if  it  ever  became  necessary  or  best. 
Surely  after  the  sacrifices  made  by  business  men  during 
the  last  four  years  we  cannot  doubt  that  there  are  many 
of  them  who  would  find  plenty  of  incentive  and  con- 
sider it  well  worth  their  while  to  continue  work  for  the 
good  of  all,  after  their  own  reasonable  needs  are  met. 


APPENDIX  L 

Refers  to  page  136 

Query :  Why  is  a  young  woma.n  who  drags  around  and  makes 
a  pet  of  an  Airedale  terrier  (or  other  dog)  better  than  an  older 
woman  who  makes  a  pet  of  a  small  fine  dog  or  a  cat?  And  why 
is  a  man's  supposedly  creditable,  exalted,  and  natural  love  of 
dogs  different  from  the  same  quality  in  woman,  even  though  it  is 
demonstrated  in  different  manner?  One  is  probably  as  nearly 
right  as  the  other,  according  as  the  judge  may  be  inclined. 

To  anyone  who  reads  English  novels  the  fact  seems  to 

appear  that,  the  Englishman,  his  dog,  his  pipe  and  his 

211 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

gun  are  well  nigh  inseparable;  his  mother,  wife  and 
family  appear  to  be  of  secondary  (though  necessary) 
importance.  His  love  for  a  mongrel  sort  of  a  dog  seems 
to  be  a  certificate  of  character.  One  wonders  why! 
A  dog  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  dirty  animal  with  most 
unpleasant,  often  vicious  habits;  but,  it  fawns  and  licks 
the  hand  that  deals  it  blows  or  favors;  it  cannot  talk 
back  nor  does  it  apparently  even  resent  the  selfish  attitude 
on  the  part  of  its  owner.  These  qualities  are  not  such  as 
would  appeal  to  a  so-called  normal  person,  surely,  as 
worthy  of  emulation;  or  in  a  friend.  The  writer  is  not 
one  who  would  abolish  animals,  but  believes  that  there 
are  places  which  are  more  appropriate  for  them  than  the 
really  intimate  habitation  or  home  of  human  beings  which 
it  is  difficult  enough  to  keep  in  perfect  sanitary  order  at 
the  best.  This  is  the  least  that  might  be  said. 


APPENDIX  M. 

One  often  hears  married  people  say  the  period  before 
the  birth  of  a  child  was  the  happiest  time  of  life.  Now 
this  may  easily  be  true  in  many  cases,  but  will  the  reason 
for  it  always  bear  inspection,  and  is  it  a  majority  ruling? 
I  should  say  not.  If  conditions  were  even  normal  as  in 
the  brute  creation  it  might  all  be  conceded  by  the  care- 
less thinker,  and  wrong  ways  and  customs  be  held 
responsible.  But  the  pain  and  peril  of  childbirth  is  not 
of  recent  origin  or  limited  application  by  any  means,  nor 
can  it  be  exaggerated  beyond  the  reality.  This  refers 
to  incidents  which  occur  in  the  so-called  natural  way. 
What  of  the  abnormal  and  unnatural  happenings,  of 
which  we  also  read,  and  which  all  refer  to  women  (human 

212 


An  Illustration 


beings)  though  many  of  us  act  as  though  we  thought 
they  were  not  like  ourselves,  but  they  are ;  and  it  makes 
the  blood  boil  to  think  of  it.  One  does  not  like  to  live  in 
a  world  where  such  things  are  possible.  Why  not  begin 
to  right  it,  partially  at  least,  in  the  only  normal,  safe  way, 
by  teaching  practical  self-control? 

The  state  of  mind  above  referred  to  may  be  desperation 
or  resignation  to  the  will  and  judgment  of  others.  It 
cannot  be  right  for  women,  delicate  women,  to  be  humili- 
ated and  their  sensibilities  outraged  as  they  must  be  in 
this  case  in  times  of  catastrophe,  aside  from  the  suffer- 
ing— read  "Little  Brother,  a  Belgian  Episode"  in  The 
Atlantic,  April,  1916;  and  other  entertaining  narratives 
cf  like  nature,  as  to  what  happened  in  Belgium,  Ohio 
floods,  etc.,  etc.  What  hurts  one  hurts  all,  even  as  what 
blesses  one  blesses  all. 


APPENDIX  N 

Refers  to  page  133 

I  have  spent  considerable  time  in  years  past  in  "The 
Old  Country"  and  I  think  I  can  fairly  say  that  I  have 
never  noticed  in  an  English  paper  or  book  a  kindly  refer- 
ence to  anything  American,  unless  it,  at  least,  had  a  back 
slap  of  some  kind.  In  plain  justice  I  must  say  that  I 
think  the  American  papers  and  books  are  not  far,  if  any, 
behind  in  their  remarks  on  the  English  and  their  customs. 
I  have  heard  it  explained  as  a  condition  existing,  because 
we  are  two  distinct  nations  with  a  common  language  and 
can  get  at  each  other's  weak  spots  with  greater  ease  and 
precision.  Be  that  as  it  may,  both  nations  have  been  too 
busy  doing  things,  to  pay  overmuch  attention  to  this  spar- 
ring ;  and  also  we  have  been  giving  Germany  all  the  praise 

213 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

we  had  available.  Consequence — Germany  has  had  its 
head  turned,  and  we  all  have,  I  hope  profited  by  the  inter 
family  criticism  which  Germany  seems  too  thin-skinned 
to  take,  greatly  to  its  loss,  as  they  were  very  free  to 
criticise  others. 

However,  our  ancestors,  as  a  nation,  never  did  oppress 
the  English,  as  a  nation,  which  may  give  us  rather  the  best 
of  it ;  though  it  is  now  easy  to  see  it  was  a  King  of  Ger- 
man descent  and  Hessian  mercenaries  who  were  in  the 
main  responsible. 

I  might  add  that  I  come  of  a  long  line  of  American 
ancestors,  and  I  have  always  thought  of  England  as  the 
"Mother  Country,"  and  of  the  U.  S.  as  representing  the 
oldest  child  in  an  independent  establishment. 


APPENDIX  O 
Refers  to  page  xiii  and  page  9 

Among  latest  reports  we  read  as  follows:  ("By  Karl 
H.  Wiegand,  Universal  Service  Staff  Correspondent. 
Special  Radio  Despatch.)  Berlin  Dec.  14,  1919.  There 
are  48,000  registered  "White  Slaves"  in  Germany,  accord- 
ing to  a  statement  made  by  Prof.  Fribos  in  a  lecture  at 
Rostok  University.  The  spread  of  social  diseases  as  a 
result  of  the  war  is  so  alarming  that  the  Government  has 
sent  Questionnaires  to  every  physician  in  the  country  to 
get  exact  statistics.  It  costs  the  Government  3,500,000 
Marks  annually  to  fight  these  diseases."  Why  not  make 
an  effort  to  exterminate  them  by  proper  propaganda  and 
example?  Probably  conditions  in  other  countries  are 
little  if  any  different.  Most  of  these  poor  creatures  are 
sub-normal  to  begin  with — the  shame  of  it!  that  men 
should  take  advantage  of  them,  as  they  do.  From  state- 

214 


An  Illustration 


ment  of  the  Secretary  for  a  league  to  save  the  child-life 
of  Mexico  we  read :  "Sufferings  of  the  women  and  little 
children  at  the  hands  of  the  bandits  and  soldiers  of 
Carranza,  cannot  be  discussed.  I  have  been  through 
the  hospitals,  I  have  asked  the  women  if  the  unbelieve- 
able  stories  I  have  heard  were  true ;  they  put  their  arms 
around  me  and  with  tears  in  their  eyes  embraced  me  when 
they  knew  that  I  sympathized.  I  have  been  taken  to  the 
house  of  a  noble  Spanish  family  where  the  women  have 
suffered  as  well  as  the  poorest;  they  would  break  down 
and  weep  before  they  could  tell  me  their  story.  Literary 
Digest,  Dec.  27,  1919. 

From  all  over  the  world  we  hear  these  reports  as  to  the 
terrible  fate  of  the  ivomen,  girls  and  children  who  would 
have  welcomed  death  as  a  release  from  the  deeds  of  men, 
but  were  not  allowed  to  die. 

We  have  had  in  these  last  years  examples  of  what 
propaganda  has  accomplished  when  properly  directed. 
What  has  been  done  can  be,  and  should  and  must  be  done 
again  in  this  most  vital  crisis. 

No  one  should  need  to  be  told  that  this  is  all  written 
as  propaganda;  a  S.  O.  S.  call,  to  help  arouse  public 
sentiment  in  regard  to  a  world  situation  which  threatens 
to  engulf  all  civilization. 

BROTHERS,  SISTERS,  LET  US  LIFT  UP  OUR 
EYES  TO  THE  "TRUTH"  FROM  WHENCE 
COMETH  OUR  LIGHT. 


215 


AN  ILLUSTRATION 

The  Chicago  Herald  certainly  gave  evidence  of  a  clear 
vision  in  asking  the  opinion  of  thinking  people  as  to  the 
lesson  to  be  drawn  from  the  Lake  Forest  Orpet-Lambert 
(1916)  tragedy,  which  seems  to  be  the  expression  or  crest 
of  the  high,  or  third  wave  in  the  sea  of  evil.  The  smaller 
waves  having  become  so  common  that  we  accept  them 
with  scarcely  a  question.  Many  solutions  will  be  offered 
as  a  remedy ;  all  doubtless  of  value. 

In  the  Orpet-Lambert  trial,  the  fact  is  brought  out 
forcibly  that  these  children  are  only  the  victims  of  a 
society  which  encourages  and  then  punishes  its  victims. 

We  may  see  why  it  is  so  wrong  for  older  people,  women 
as  well  as  men,  to  encourage  (the  women  by  example) 
and  to  applaud  immodest,  vulgar  and  loud  dressing  for 
young  women  and  little  girls,  just  because  they  "attract 
attention"  and  "look  so  pretty."  I  suppose  that  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  in  this  very  thing  we  can  find  the  incep- 
tion of  the  Lake  Forest  (and  many  another)  tragedy. 
"The  girl"  (Marian  Lambert  in  this  case)  without  realiz- 
ing the  kind  of  effect  produced  probably  wore  transparent 
waists  with  pointed  and  loose  openings,  short  sleeves  and 
skirt,  thin  silk  stockings  (as  is  the  present  mode)  all  of 
which  exposed  her  person  seductively.  "The  boy"  (Will 
Orpet  in  this  case)  was  seduced  by  all  of  this,  and  later, 
as  an  unnatural  consequence  seduced  the  girl.  As  the 
result  the  two  families  are  prostrated,  never  to  recover, 
and  the  world  is  shocked,  as  it  should  be. 

These  children  according  to  evidence,  were  distracted 
from  their  proper  studies;  the  girl  by  her  clothes  and 

216 


An  Illustration 


giggling  vanity :  the  boy  helpless  through  his  passions 
aroused  by  insidious  conditions  of  the  most  trying  kind.* 
One  of  our  noted  women  educators  has  recently  said  that 
were  all  the  silk  stockings  thrown  into  the  fake  it  would 
be  the  best  thing  that  could  happen;  and  also  that  gig- 
gling was  conducive  to  immorality,  and  so  it  is.  Older 
people  are  susceptible  to  and  encourage  it  as  well  as  boys. 

Abnormal  and  vulgar  ideas  are  exploited  and  insisted 
on  in  advertisements,  plays,  novels,  songs,  movies,  and 
cheap  magazine  covers,  until  people  whose  minds  are 
not  awake  to  the  danger  are  hypnotised,  or  mesmerized 
into  a  state  that  some  unsound,  vagrant,  wayward,  hu- 
man mind  suggests,  often  without  motive ;  and  often  for 
greedy  motives  of  gain;  no  matter  what  it  may  cost  in 
lives  lost  and  morals  degraded.  The  above  may  all  be 
applied  to  in  the  four  most  notable  object  lessons  given 
us  as  high  lights  on  a  constant  condition;  namely,  the 
Crippen  case  in  England,  the  White,  and  more  recent 
Waite  and  Orpet  cases  in  this  country.  Warnings  we 
have  had  in  plenty,  will  we  never  learn  ? 

The  DeSaules  case  which  was  a  nine  days'  sensation 
filling  columns  in  prominent  newspapers,  then  being 
dropped  utterly,  to  the  relief  of  most  readers,  should  be 
a  lesson  to  people  who  read  and  applaud  modern  novels, 
in  which  the  same  occurrence  take  place  up  to  the  time 
where,  the  "man"  marries  the  "girl,"  at  which  point  a 

*  A  fine,  high  principled  young  man  said  to  his  mother :  "While 
a  man  would  turn  and  flee  if  he  saw  a  naked  woman  it  is  the  little 
details  of  a  woman's  attire,  a  lace  ruffle  on  the  skirt  showing  below 
the  dress,  those  things  which  are  half  concealed  and  half  revealed 
which  are  most  insidious  and  dangerous  to  morals ;  usually  uncon- 
sciously so  but  full  as  harmful."  Is  is  an  especially  sinful  thing 
to  thus  demoralize  and  injure  these  fine  young  fellows,  though  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  they  are  easy  victims,  who  hug  their 
chains  and  are  as  miguided  as  are  the  women  in  the  case. 

217 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

rosy  glow  is  shed  over  the  situation;  which  is  bound  to 
change  within  a  few  days  or  weeks  in  real  life  as  it  was 
proven  in  this  noted  case.  A  young  girl  (child)  is  taken 
from  her  exotic  environments  and  thrown  into  a  world  of 
seasoned  men  and  women  of  different  race;  what  could 
any  sane  person  expect.  She  would  be  entirely  out  of 
place  either  in  home  or  society.  Why  blame  the  women 
of  the  family  or  the  girl  for  the  outcome,  which  was  in- 
evitable from  the  start.  Consider  these  things  and  see 
how  society  condones  and  encourages  such  affairs  up  to 
a  certain  point,  and  then  punishes  its  helpless  victims. 
Here  is  a  potentially  happy  life  (in  its  natural  environ- 
ments) spoiled  and  a  strong  young  man  first  ruined  and 
then  killed.  Think  of  the  child  of  such  a  union,  what  will 
its  life  be? 

As  one  who  has  made  a  close  study  of  and  sees  all 
sides,  I  should  say  that  what  the  boys  and  girls  need  is 
better  precept  and  example  in  self  control  from  (at  last 
analysis)  older  men.  As  for  precept  read  the  following 
clipping  one  of  many  such  found  in  leading  publications ; 
"When  a  girl  is  mad  she  is  much  worse  to  take  care  of 

than  a  boy,  was  the  statement  of  Judge ."  "Mad," 

Judge?  Also  when  she  is  bad.  But  there  are  few  bad 
girls;  whereas  (fortunately)  there  is  always  a  fine  crop 
of  "bad  boys."  No  really  judicious  mother  cares  to 
raise  her  boy  to  be  a  "mollycoddle."  In  this  and  similar 
ways  are  the  mother  and  son  given  their  cue. 

The  high  moral  teaching  of  the  Bible  has  certainly 
been  largely  superseded  by  that  of  Neitzche,  which  (un- 
dermining respect  for  religion  and  women,  drove  him  in- 
sane) is  being  exploited  much  more  generally  than  we 
realize,  and  must  be  reckoned  with  and  controverted  or 

218 


An  Illustration 


expiated.  All  this  is  discouraging  and  almost  paralyzing 
to  the  earnest  parent  or  teacher.  One  realizes  that  the 
above  mentioned  teaching  is  made  all  too  common  and 
attractive  to  the  immature  and  somewhat  helpless  mind 
of  youth.  We  are  glad  to  feel  that  our  Presidents  have 
been,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  moral  men;  whose 
family  life  was  beyond  reproach ;  and  that  is  well.  We 
should  see  to  it  that  the  youth  of  our  country  have  at  least 
the  benefit  of  good  examples  in  such  high  places.  As  to 
example  what  do  we  see  about  us.  First  read  "Divorce 
Court  Records,"  Jack  Lait's  article  on  Divorce  in  recent 
Herald;  the  series  "Why  the  girl  goes  wrong,  etc.,"  then 
look  about  and  see  how  many  business  men  of  means 
even  are  deserting  a  faithful  wife  and  family  for  "an- 
other woman."  When  the  wife  of  their  youth,  and  the 
mother  of  their  children  passes  on,  some  of  them  do  not 
pay  a  decent  amount  of  respect  to  her  memory,  but  hasten 
in  unseemly  fashion  to  get  "another  woman,"  thus  strik- 
ing a  blow  at  romance  and  sentiment. 

James  Lane  Allen  goes  to  much  length  to  prove  in  his 
"Kentucky  Cardinal"  that  "a  man  will  sacrifice  one  thing 
he  loves  for  something  he  loves  better."  "Greville"  tells 
poor  Emily  Hart,  a  young  victim  of  men's  lust  who  after- 
ward became  Lady  Hamilton,  "I  have  never  seen  a 
woman  who  could  hold  a  man  after  he  was  tired  of  her." 
Now  why  shouldn't  he  poison  the  one  he  loved  after  he 
is  tired  of  her  in  order  to  get  another ;  if  it  didn't  come 
about  in  any  other  way.  If  men  congratulate  themselves 
on  this  state  of  affairs,  as  they  appear  to  do,  why  should 
not  a  boy  like  Orpet  follow  suit  and  get  rid  of  that  which 
tires  him  and  interferes  with  his  getting  another  in  the 
only  way  he  sees ;  after  his  mind  is  perverted  and  stulti- 

219 


Taking  "Forth  the  Precious  From  the  Vile" 

fied  by  seeing  abnormal  situations  in  movies  and  real  life, 
made  a  subject  of  wild  hilarity  by  people  who  should 
know  better.  Wholesale,  consecutive  bigamy  and  inci- 
dental robbery  and  wife  murders  are  not  at  all  uncom- 
mon, as  Criminal  Court  Records  will  show.  I  believe  a 
vast  number  of  men  (not  all  by  any  means)  must  be 
taught  to  feel  a  sense  of  moral  responsibility  to  the  race, 
which  they  certainly  do  not  feel  at  present.  Mothers 
would  teach  their  children  morality,  as  all  know,  but  they 
are  limited  and  discredited  in  a  man's  world.  The 
Mother  of  General  Lew  Wallace  said  "Gentlemen,  you 
wrong  the  race  by  not  giving  woman  the  ballot." 


220 


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